China in and beyond the Headlines [Paperback]

Getting a fix on Chinese cultural and political shifts has never seemed more urgent. So the appearance of this collection of wide-ranging, informative, and fluidly written essays is not just something to welcome but something to celebrate. I can't wait to bring the book into a classroom and take it for a spin with my students.The essays in this book pull off the fine balancing act of giving an ideal introduction to contemporary China while also delving in depth into the most important issues at play today.In these high-quality scholarly essays, specialists from various fields investigate the most critical issues that China is facing and making a great effort to deal with. They include China's relationships with the US and other countries, human rights issues, social welfare reform, a sharp rich-poor division, rapidly growing popular culture, emerging consumerism and tourism, rapid urbanization, economic development and environmental protection, intellectuals of different ideologies, the establishment of a modern legal system, ethnic tensions in minority regions, the decriminalization and depathologization of homosexuality, and China's efforts to introduce its language and culture to the world. The in-depth discussions of these issues are based on the most current data and information resources, and they really go beyond the headlines of limited Western media coverage on China. Providing a panoramic view of contemporary China and comprehensive coverage of Chinese economic, political, technological, social, and cultural changes, as well as the influence of these changes on the whole world, this is a must read for all scholars and students of China studies. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.?This is the third volume in the popular series China beyond the Headlines by Rowman & Littlefield. The first volume, China beyond the Headlines, was published in 2000, and the second volume, Chinas Transformations: The Stories beyond the Headlines, in 2007. The serielC©