Sparks

Book cover of Sparks: China's Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future

Book description

'An indelible feat of reporting and an urgent read ... It's a privilege to read books like these' Te-Ping Chen, author of Land of Big Numbers

'A powerful reminder of the ways in which China's future depends on who controls the past' Peter Hessler

A documentary filmmaker who spent years…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Sparks as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom

Author

I found the central figures profiled in Sparks enormously compelling due to their bravery, determination, and in some cases also audacity.

These intrepid people—a mix that includes documentary filmmakers, samizdat publishers, essayists, and collectors of oral histories—simply refuse to give up on their risky mission of trying to counter-distorting official Chinese Communist Party narratives about the past. It is an important book, given how much emphasis Xi Jinping has been placing on controlling views of history.

It is also a gripping read, filled with lively anecdotes. I am biased, as Ian Johnson, the author, is a close friend. But I…

From Jeffrey's 3 favorite reads in 2023.