The Story of China

This huge subject is approached by Michael Woods in such an approachable way. The bare bones of the dynastic history are filled out and anchored with details of individuals in different eras. There is a remarkable amount of interesting detail and as the history becomes the 20th Century this can become quite harrowing. Families that cling onto their important tangible ancestry links such as calligraphy and woodcuts, despite the waves of oppression that interspersed times of rich stability. The details understandably fill out with the recent past.
I always find his enthusiasm infectious. It was triggered me to buy a book on Zen poetry and download the massive The Story of the Stone. It looks intriguing. So thank you Mr Woods. I wish you had been my history teacher.

This is a monumental effort by Michael Wood to write down every single major and minor turning point in Chinese history by weaving threads of cultural and political developments to compliment such a vast and complex subject.

This very interesting book by the famous historian and filmmaker, Michael Wood will bring us to know more about China, from its ancient route to the present day. What elements and ideas that have shaped the Chinese people until now. Like what Michael Wood said, 'China is the country that we all want to know about today, but if you want to understand China now, you need to know about it's history'.
Very well written!