Best books to read on China

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CHINA BOOK CORNER

Actually, for books in general, one of the best web sites for searching and ordering books is Spree.com! Note that many of the books below are available here directly through Spree for significant discounts. Click on higlighted selections to order -- it's that simple! All orders are secure!

CHINA TRAVEL GUIDEBOOKS

China; Travel Survival Kit, 5th ed. (Lonely Planet)
by: Storey, Robert Quality Paperback
The best budge travel companion one could want in China. A must buy for anyone coming.

LIVING/WORKING IN CHINA

The Bejing Scene Guidebook - the best and most up to date guidebook to living, working and travelling in Beijing.

Living in China : A Guide to Teaching and Studying in China Including Taiwan
by: Weiner, Rebecca/ Murphy, Margaret/ Li, Albert Quality Paperback

DICTIONARIES/LANGUAGE

Concise Chinese-English, English-Chinese Dictionary - everyone must have the "little red book" put out by the Oxford Press and Commercial Press. Not the most comprehensive dictionary by any means, but the most compact. Perfect for taking wherever you go.
A Reverse Chinese English Dictionary - only know the second half of a Chinese phrase? No worry - look up the second half in the dictionary and it offers all the possible combinations. Another handy tool for the translator. (i.e. fei ji. Know ji but don't know fei? Look up ji in the dictionary and all of the combinations with ji as the second half are listed. Now look for "fei" and you discover, wah! It's a plane!
Chinese English Dictionary of Modern Slang in China -- yours truly edited part of this puppy (the part with no mistakes, of course). 1995.

ABC Chinese-English Dictionary
by: DeFrancis, John Quality Paperback

Mutant Mandarin : A Guide to New Chinese Slang
by: Yimin, Zhou/ Wang, James J. Quality Paperback

Outrageous Chinese
by: Wang, James J. Quality Paperback

GENERAL CHINA READING

Red China Blues
by: Jan Wong.

China Wakes; The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power
by: Kristoff, Nicholas D. Quality Paperback
Kristoff and Wudunn, former New York Time reporters based in Beijing, capture the heart of some of the major issues facing China in this quick read. A good book for the person interested in China who doesn抰 want to tackle a dry history book.

Wild Swans; Three Daughters of China, Anchor Books ed.
by: Chang, Jung Quality Paperback
A moving novel you won't be able to put down that brings the Cultural Revolution front and center.

CHINA BUSINESS - what those who do business here read!

Economist Intelligence Unit publications (but pricy)
The Life and Death of a Joint Venture in China, Asia Law and Practice
other Asia Law and Practice Publications, such as the China Tax and Accounting Guide

CHINESE HISTORY

The Search for Modern China
by: Spence, Jonathan D. Quality Paperback
A readable history book on China? This is a good place to start.

CHINA NOVELS

The White Tiger, by Robert Nathan. An old novel, but one with spy and intrigue in the inner reaches of the Chinese government.
News from Tartary, by Peter Fleming. Old travel diary, but great writing. From Beijing to Kashgar.

GREAT GIFTS/FOR THE COFFEE TABLE

Quandrangles of Beijing - Learn all about Chinese courtyards, packed with color photos.
Hutongs of Beijing - a superb (and cheap) black and white photo collection of Beijing抯 fast disappearing hu tongs (back alleys).

Also check out China Books & Periodicals.

Let us know what China books you would add to this list

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