Publisher's Synopsis
This book examines the momentous events that transformed China from an imperial to a communist state. Paul Bailey draws on the most recent research in his discussion of the overthrow of China's last imperial dynasty, the birth and growth of the Chinese Communist Party, and the bitter civil war which ended in the establishment of the People's Republic. In the last chapters he considers the attempts of Mao Zedong and his successors to create a modern and vigorous economy.
