The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers - Hardcover

McGregor, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061708771 ISBN 13: 9780061708770

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2010

Synopsis

"Few outsiders have any realistic sense of the innards, motives, rivalries, and fears of the Chinese Communist leadership. But we all know much more than before, thanks to Richard McGregor's illuminating and richly-textured look at the people in charge of China's political machinery.... Invaluable." -- James Fallows, National Correspondent for The Atlantic

The Party is Financial Times reporter Richard McGregor's eye-opening investigation into China's Communist Party, and the integral role it has played in the country's rise as a global superpower and rival to the United States. Many books have examined China's economic rise, human rights record, turbulent history, and relations with the U.S.; none until now, however, have tackled the issue central to understanding all of these issues: how the ruling communist government works. The Party delves deeply into China's secretive political machine.

About this title

Review:

""The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers" is a careful, highly well-informed and entertaining account of China's ruling class, chronicling the country's 30-year rise to major economic power despite high levels of poverty."--"The Associated Press"

"Illuminating and richly-textured. . . . "The Party" will be invaluable for anyone trying to make sense of China's future plans and choices. It has certainly enriched my own understanding of the country."--James Fallows, National Correspondent for "The Atlantic"

"Fascinating. . . . "The Party" examines the intricate relationship between the Communist Party and the Chinese government, exposing how a political machine subverts the will to properly govern a billion people."--"Esquire"

A masterful depiction of the party today. . . . McGregor illuminates the most important of the contradictions and paradoxes. . . . An entertaining and insightful portrait of China s secretive rulers. --"The Economist""

A fascinating and ambitious book. . . . Revealing. . . . McGregor lays bare the secretive machinery of the party, how it operates far more pervasively in public life and commerce than many suspect. --"Forbes""

McGregor does a persuasive job of sketching how communist the country really still is. . . . Anyone who wants to understand more about China would be well advised to pick up McGregor s book.--"Newsweek""

As informative as it is entertaining. . . . China has been transformed. There is no denying it. The system that takes the credit is brilliantly described by McGregor. --"The Financial Times""

Astute. . . . A sober, realistic book. . . . A readable guide to how China is governed. --"Bloomberg""

Richard McGregor has penned a detailed look at the Chinese Communist Party that is must reading for U.S. officials and China affairs specialists who profess to be perplexed at why the regime in Beijing consistently operates like a Soviet-style communist dictatorship and not a Western-style democracy. --"The Washington Times""

Fascinating. . . . "The Party" examines the intricate relationship between the Communist Party and the Chinese government, exposing how a political machine subverts the will to properly govern a billion people. --"Esquire""

From the Back Cover:

An eye-opening investigation into China's Communist Party and its integral role in the country's rise as a global superpower and rival of the United States

China's political and economic growth in the past three decades is one of astonishing, epochal dimensions. The country has undergone a remarkable transformation on a scale similar to that of the Industrial Revolution in the West. The most remarkable part of this transformation, however, has been left largely untold--the central role of the Chinese Communist Party.

As an organization alone, the Party is a phenomenon of unique scale and power. Its membership surpasses seventy-three million, and it does more than just rule a country. The Party not only has a grip on every aspect of government, from the largest, richest cities to the smallest far-flung villages in Tibet and Xinjiang, it also has a hold on all official religions, the media, and the military. The Party presides over large, wealthy state-owned businesses, and it exercises control over the selection of senior executives of all government companies, many of which are in the top tier of the Fortune 500 list.

In The Party, Richard McGregor delves deeply into China's inner sanctum for the first time, showing how the Communist Party controls the government, courts, media, and military, and how it keeps all corruption accusations against its members in-house. The Party's decisions have a global impact, yet the CPC remains a deeply secretive body, hostile to the law, unaccountable to anyone or anything other than its own internal tribunals. It is the world's only geopolitical rival of the United States, and is steadfastly poised to think the worst of the West.

In this provocative and illuminating account, Richard McGregor offers a captivating portrait of China's Communist Party, its grip on power and control over China, and its future.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0061708771
• ISBN 13: 9780061708770
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 302