New Books, On China and Neighbors
[by J. Scott Shipman]
Mountains of Fame, John W. Wills (not pictured)
Liao Architecture, by Nancy Steinhardt
The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China, by Ralph D. Sawyer
Inner Asian Frontiers of China, by Owen Lattimore
Empires of the Silk Road, Christopher I. Beckwith
The Perilous Frontier, by Thomas Barfield
The Horse, The Wheel, and Language, by David W. Anthony
3,000 Years of Chinese Statecraft, by Dennis Bloodworth
The Imjin War, by Samuel Hawley
The Tyranny of History, by W.J.F Jenner
The Wars for Asia 1911-1949, by S.C.M. Paine
Hard Road Home, by Ye Fu (not pictured, and a specialty publisher with great customer service Ragged Banner Press)
After the first of the year I commenced yet another “modern” assessment of China as a potential adversary, and had not gotten too far before the author attempted to channel ancient Chinese history to explain current Chinese policies. The author’s confidence and specious use of history made me aware of just how illiterate I am in that portion of the world. I don’t know about you, but when I’m faced with a known gap and seam in some area of knowledge, I do a (fill in the blank) study. (I’ve done studies on central Africa, cognition, neuroeconomics, strategy (which seems on-going), and naval tactics to name a few.) My normal process is to find a syllabus from someone I trust or admire, or ask my network to offer five or six must read books on the topic. T. Greer at Scholar’s Stage, is a well known to the readers here at Zenpundit as a commenter and very knowledgeable on Chinese history. He recommended most of the books in the list above.
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