DECEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Twelve hours may sound a bit long for a “brief” audiobook history, but when the subject is China, time flies all too quickly, in more ways than one. Jonathan Clements and Julian Elfer, author and narrator, are both masters of pacing. They also teamed up for A BRIEF HISTORY OF JAPAN. Clements is especially effective in alternating broad historical summaries with specific historical figures and episodes. Elfer, with his steady and flexible voice, is able to sustain narrative flow while also achieving a sense of immediacy. The history captures and holds you, even if the dynasties and centuries sometimes blend together. A surprising amount of information will stay with you, along with a vivid sense of the sweep and magnitude of Chinese history. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
"A go-to guide for anyone seeking to get up to speed on China quickly. With a focus on memorable characters and stories, A Brief History of China is ideal for tourists, students and businesspeople looking to understand this emerging superpower." —Julie Makinen, former China Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times
"…a powerful, engaging and balanced account of the vast span of China's history…The reader can approach this book with confidence and—thanks to its well-chosen reading recommendations—use it as a springboard for deeper engagement with China, its culture and its people." —Ellis Tinios, Honorary Lecturer in East Asian History, University of Leeds
"Clements' spare prose, bad-boy wit and encyclopedic knowledge of Asian facts, gossip and trivia put paid to any misgivings about uttering 'history' and 'page-turner' in the same breath. This succinct chronicle of China's rise to global power is essential reading for businessmen, politicians and creatives." —J. Christopher Westland, Author of Red Wired: China's Internet Revolution and Overseas Chair Professor / Thousand-Talents Plan Scholar at Beihang University
"A Brief History of China is a pacy romp through China's long and layered history that successfully walks the tightrope of the scholarly and the entertaining. In brisk, engaging prose, Clements covers this book's vast territory with authority." —Pallavi Aiyar, Author of Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China
"Jonathan Clements' deep knowledge of the subject and his lively, entertaining style are here combined to produce something quite remarkable: a history that is indeed brief and yet surprisingly comprehensive. Somehow, as you are carried along on the tide of his absorbing narrative, you are convinced that nothing meaningful has been left out. Here is China in all its glory." —Stephen Turnbull, Author of The Great Wall of China
"Clements tackles more than 5,000 years of Chinese history in an agile but comprehensible narrative of the Heavenly Kingdom. Useful for the general reader, the book has special value for the business person looking to understand the single largest commercial market in the world." —Alfonso Asensio, Author of World Wide Data and Chief Kickboxing Officer
"Clements brings to light the voices of the hidden and the marginalised, through snapshots of real people, and readings between the lines of poetry, historical records, and contemporary literature. He pays particular attention to women, uncovering their often-buried impact on China's past, and…takes China's history back to its diverse human core, immersing booklovers in a vast cast of characters and a gripping narrative, effortlessly easy to enjoy." —Roxy Simons, AllTheAnime
"Where was this book a decade ago, when I landed in China and needed a crash course on the country and the culture? With humor, respect, and a deft hand, Clements simplifies the complicated politics of 5,000 years of history and makes it accessible. He highlights and humanizes the most formative events and the people involved, so as not to overwhelm readers, and gives us insight into how events that happened long ago still resonate today." —Alicia Noel, Founder & CEO, Cultivati Inc.
DECEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Twelve hours may sound a bit long for a “brief” audiobook history, but when the subject is China, time flies all too quickly, in more ways than one. Jonathan Clements and Julian Elfer, author and narrator, are both masters of pacing. They also teamed up for A BRIEF HISTORY OF JAPAN. Clements is especially effective in alternating broad historical summaries with specific historical figures and episodes. Elfer, with his steady and flexible voice, is able to sustain narrative flow while also achieving a sense of immediacy. The history captures and holds you, even if the dynasties and centuries sometimes blend together. A surprising amount of information will stay with you, along with a vivid sense of the sweep and magnitude of Chinese history. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
