China Great History

In The Great Great Wall, architectural historian and critic Ian Volner takes a deep dive into the story of Donald Trump’s wall. Volner follows the conception, selling, design, and construction (or lack thereof) of this expensive and consequential barrier, giving listeners a detailed description of what’s happening in Washington, DC - and along the border. He also travels far afield, to China, the Middle East, northern England, and back to our border to examine the barriers we’ve been building for centuries.

Much of the material in this book comes from The Bamboo Annals, The Records of the Grand Historian, and later historians who studied those sacred texts. The bamboo annals were discovered in AD 281, inside the tomb of King Xian. The Records of the Grand Historian were reportedly written by Sima Tian and continued by his son, Sima Qian. Only fragments remain today, but the original may have been written just prior to 86 BC.

We've been building and making things ever since we stumbled out of paradise. Some of those things are incredible continuations of God's creation, while others are nothing but ambitious catastrophes. We continue making, says Russell Rathbun, but we've lost ourselves in the process.

When the SARS virus broke out in China in January 2003, Karl Taro Greenfeld was the editor of Time Asia in Hong Kong, just a few miles from the epicenter of the outbreak. After vague, initial reports of terrified Chinese boiling vinegar to "purify" the air, Greenfeld and his staff soon found themselves immersed in the story of a lifetime. Deftly tracking a mysterious viral killer, China Syndrome takes listeners on a gripping ride that blows through the Chinese government's effort to cover up the disease and sounds a clarion call warning of a catastrophe to come.

When Peter Drucker wrote Concept of the Corporation in 1946, he revealed what made the large American corporation tick. Similarly, The Art of Japanese Management by Richard Pascale in 1981 explained the unique practices developed by the Japanese to bring that country's economy out of the ashes. The emerging Chinese juggernauts - the Alibabas, Lenovos, and Haiers - need similar revelation since they are a different breed in their own right.

A century ago, Europe's diplomats mismanaged the crisis triggered by the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the continent plunged into World War I, which killed millions, toppled dynasties, and destroyed empires. Today, as the 100th anniversary of the Great War prompts renewed debate about the war's causes, scholars and policy experts are also considering the parallels between the present international system and the world of 1914. Are China and the United States fated to follow in the footsteps of previous great power rivals?

This book delves into the geopolitical influence of China, providing a comprehensive analysis of its rise as a global power. The author explores various dimensions that contribute to China's growing influence, such as its economic power, military capabilities, strategic positioning, and technological ambitions.

The 19th century saw the rise of one of the largest, most powerful empires of the modern era. The sun never set on the British Empire, whose holdings spanned the globe, in one form or another, and trade flowed east and west. An integral but underutilized part of a vast trade network included China. The Opium Wars: The History and Legacy of the 19th Century Conflicts Between Britain and China examines the way in which trade, colonialism, and illegal drug use culminated with one of the 19th century’s most controversial fights.

China loomed large on the world stage. Wealth, power, and hundreds of years of rule by the Manchus of the Qing Dynasty catapulted them to new heights, but with power and prestige came those who would do anything to usurp their authority and undermine their sense of stability. The British Empire and its faithful allies devised a masterful plan and executed it with stark precision. Vicious lies, cheating, and stealing were only the beginning of what they had in store for the nation.