From School Library Journal Grade 8 Up-Zurlo does an excellent job of covering China's turbulent 20th century and the resulting changes in the political, economic, social, and cultural realms. Lucidly written, flowing chapters with numerous footnotes describe the tumultuous period leading up to the 1949 Communist victory; Mao's rule, with the Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and Red Guards; Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms and the Tiananmen incident; and the economic and political leadership of Jiang Zemin. The closing chapter discusses current challenges: the eroding of traditional values, environmental problems, human rights, and implications of membership in the World Trade Organization. Lengthy boxes add relevant, fascinating in-depth detail, be it on individuals, movements like Falun Gong, or other topics of interest. The only drawbacks to this otherwise fine work are the dense format; the fuzzy gray photographs; and the Web sites under "For Further Reading" that are generally dated, unavailable, or highly commercial.
