The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream

Written by Michael Wood

Narrated by Liam Gerrard

Michael Wood has travelled the length and breadth of China, the world's oldest civilization and longest lasting state, to tell a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity, and deep humanity that stretches back thousands of years.



After a century and a half of foreign invasion, civil war, and revolution, China has once again returned to center stage as a global superpower and the world's second largest economy. But how did it become so dominant? Wood argues that in order to comprehend the great significance of China today, we must begin with its history.



The Story of China takes a fresh look at the Middle Kingdom in the light of the recent massive changes inside the country. Taking into account exciting new archeological discoveries, the book begins with China's prehistory. Wood looks at particular periods and themes that are now being reevaluated by historians. Wood explores the encounter with the West, the Opium Wars, the clashes with the British, and the extraordinarily rich debates in the late nineteenth century that pushed China along the path to modernity.

The Story of China is the indispensable book about the most intriguing and powerful country on the world stage today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9798765006641

Michael Wood

Michael Wood is a freelance journalist and proofreader living in Newcastle. As a journalist he covered many crime stories throughout Sheffield, gaining first-hand knowledge of police procedure. He also reviews books for CrimeSquad, a website dedicated to crime fiction.

Reviews for The Story of China

[daniel_m_oz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A well written book that did a great job in condensing 5,000 years if history into a single volume. The book is broken down chronologically into the main dynasties and a brief geo-political description is given, followed by a detail exposition of key aspects of life in China in ch era via the journals/diaries ect of certain individuals.

[quondame · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Obviously a summary, it goes through the dynasties and interregnums, highlights key historical and cultural figures and includes occasional recent discoveries to hint at the depth and texture of the various periods. Useful as an introduction, that it doesn't even mention the one child policy gives an idea of how far it should be trusted as a guide.

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, cultural-heritage, cultural-exploration, illustrations*****

I've read the Charles River Editors segments of the history of China, but most of them are so obviously Publish or Perish that it becomes hard to remember what I learned. This tome is so very different, even if a few of the illustrations appear to be the same. This one is eminently understandable and the retention should be much better. I actually enjoyed it! But it does require reading it in segments to avoid being overwhelmed.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

[1randal-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an incredible, epic read of Chinese history. Covering 4000 years of history is a daunting task, however the author does an excellent job of it. Breaking down the history into specific dynasties, Wood's makes you feel like you are there as history is being made. He manages to accomplish this not by reciting boring facts and dates, but by telling a story in each section.
This is not a book that you can plow through in one sitting. It requires your attention, and the reading of one chapter at a time, then taking time to digest it. But....you will come away with a much greater appreciation of China and it's people.
On a different note, as I read this, I was discussing the chapters with a Chinese student that we have hosted. She was very surprised, stating several times that she "did not know that"!
I highly recommend this book!