Eric Hundman
China analyst, recovering academic. 中文通 (非中国通), sci-fi geek, ex-STEM. Military, security, & foreign policy in China + Taiwan. Views my own. 🏳️🌈
10+ Book Recommendations by Eric Hundman
Disobeying Hitler
Randall Hansen
It is common, but wildly incorrect, to assume disobedience doesn't happen in authoritarian militaries. Officers disobeying Hitler, for instance, are probably why Paris didn't burn at the end of WWII. There's an entire book titled "Disobeying Hitler!" https://t.co/OJ1APlqMxJ https://t.co/lqq6K9QXV0
Squaddies
John Hockey
British military training is given a human aspect in this fascinating study of life in the barracks at the common solider level.@PatrickBury Thanks, yea, it's in my library, though I didn't draw on it directly for this piece. An excellent book indeed!
China's Superbank
Henry Sanderson
Economics & Finance.And I somehow missed @PekingMike & @hjesanderson's 2013 book, China's Superbank: Debt, Oil and Influence. As @BethanyAllenEbr and others have noted, following the money is crucial to understanding China's influence. https://t.co/KrDuFPp6J8 12/x
The Specter of Global China
Ching Kwan Lee
Unnatural capital: Chinese state investment and its travails in Africa -- Varieties of accumulation: profit maximization and beyond -- Labor bargains: regimes of exploitation and exclusion -- Managerial ethos: collective asceticism versus individual careerism -- Contesting capital: aspiration and capacity from below -- Eventful global China -- Appendix: an ethnographer's odyssey: the mundane and the sublime of researching China in ZambiaFirst up, one of my favorite academic books: Ching Kwan Lee's The Specter of Global China. An ethnography of Chinese businesses in Africa, it usefully complexifies China's influence, arguing it isn't so different from other global actors. https://t.co/Tti7CGRUNM 2/x
The Inner Opium War (Harvard East Asian Monographs)
James Polachek
Why did defeat in the Opium War not lead Ch'ing China to a more realistic appreciation of Western might and Chinese weakness? James Polachek's revisionist analysis exposes the behind-the-scenes political struggles that not only shaped foreign-policy decisions in the 1830s and 1840s but have continued to affect the history of Chinese nationalism in modern times. Polachek looks closely at the networks of literati and officials, self-consciously reminiscent of the late Ming era that sought and gained the ear of the emperor. Challenging the conventional view that Lin Tse-hsu and his supporters were selfless patriots who acted in China's best interests, Polachek agrues that, for reasons having more to do with their own domestic political agenda, these men advocated a futile policy of militant resistance to the West. Linking political intrigue, scholarly debates, and foreign affairs, local notables in Canton and literati lobbyists in Perking this book sets the Opium War for the first times in its "inner," domestic political context.@jayjamescarter Oh no! I loved that book
Qiaowu
James Jiann Hua To
Qiaowu: Extra-Territorial Policies for the Overseas Chinese is a comprehensive analysis of the rival policies and practices of the Chinese Communist Party, Nationalist Kuomintang and Democratic Progressive Party governments of Taiwan concerning strategic cohorts of the Chinese diaspora.@sehof I remain puzzled that To’s book hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves
The Specter of Global China
Ching Kwan Lee
Unnatural capital: Chinese state investment and its travails in Africa -- Varieties of accumulation: profit maximization and beyond -- Labor bargains: regimes of exploitation and exclusion -- Managerial ethos: collective asceticism versus individual careerism -- Contesting capital: aspiration and capacity from below -- Eventful global China -- Appendix: an ethnographer's odyssey: the mundane and the sublime of researching China in Zambia@IgorRogelja Read this last year and loved it - currently my favorite on this topic.
Following the Leader
David M. Lampton
Tells the story of China's political elites from their own perspectives. Based on over five hundred interviews, this title offers a rare glimpse into how the attitudes and ideas of those at the top have evolved over the decades.Prepping David Lampton's book for a lecture and, while it drives home how quickly things can change in Chinese politics, was nice to be reminded that some scholars can truly write well. https://t.co/SzDrhMMr84
The Dragon and the Taniwha
Manying Ip
Analyzing for the first time the relationship between the tangata whenua and the country’s earliest non-European immigrant group, this study investigates how two different marginalized groups in New Zealand society—the Maori and the Chinese—have interacted over the last 150 years. Various aspects are explored, such as how Maori newspapers have portrayed Chinese publications and vice versa, the changing demography of Chinese and Maori populations, Maori-Chinese marriages, and the ancient migration of both groups. The ethnically diverse contributors—from Maori to Chinese to European scholars—tackle numerous questions from many angles as well, such as Do the Maori resent Chinese immigrants? Do Chinese New Zealanders understand the role of the tangata whenua? and Have Maori and Chinese formed alliances based on common values and history? The result is an engaging portrait of the past and present relationships between two important peoples. Since race relations in New Zealand have usually been examined in terms of Maori and Pakeha, this unique exploration of Maori–Chinese relations portrays a much richer and more complex social fabric.One of the best things about the interlude between the end of classes and finals grading: catching up on reading. This book has been waiting 11 months for me! https://t.co/yibXTozwPI
The Human Network
Matthew O. Jackson
Here is a fresh, intriguing, and, above all, authoritative book about how our sometimes hidden positions in various social structures--our human networks--shape how we think and behave, and inform our very outlook on life. Inequality, social immobility, and political polarization are only a few crucial phenomena driven by the inevitability of social structures. Social structures determine who has power and influence, account for why people fail to assimilate basic facts, and enlarge our understanding of patterns of contagion--from the spread of disease to financial crises. Despite their primary role in shaping our lives, human networks are often overlooked when we try to account for our most important political and economic practices. Matthew O. Jackson brilliantly illuminates the complexity of the social networks in which we are--often unwittingly--positioned and aims to facilitate a deeper appreciation of why we are who we are. Ranging across disciplines--psychology, behavioral economics, sociology, and business--and rich with historical analogies and anecdotes, The Human Network provides a galvanizing account of what can drive success or failure in life.@AmazonHelp https://t.co/9T0ZELCgRY