Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

By: Ezra F. Vogel

Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin

Once described by Mao Zedong as a "needle inside a ball of cotton", Deng was the pragmatic yet disciplined driving force behind China's radical transformation in the late 20th century. He confronted the damage wrought by the Cultural Revolution, dissolved Mao's cult of personality, and loosened the economic and social policies that had stunted China's growth. Obsessed with modernization and technology, Deng opened trade relations with the West, which lifted hundreds of millions of his countrymen out of poverty. Yet at the same time he answered to his authoritarian roots, most notably when he ordered the crackdown in June 1989 at Tiananmen Square.

Deng's youthful commitment to the Communist Party was cemented in Paris in the early 1920s, among a group of Chinese student-workers that also included Zhou Enlai. Deng returned home in 1927 to join the Chinese Revolution on the ground floor. In the fifty years of his tumultuous rise to power, he endured accusations, purges, and even exile before becoming China's preeminent leader from 1978 to 1989 and again in 1992. When he reached the top, Deng saw an opportunity to creatively destroy much of the economic system he had helped build for five decades as a loyal follower of Mao-and he did not hesitate.

©2011 Ezra F. Vogel (P)2021 Tantor

Enlightening in an Objective Manner

It’s rare to get such an insight from an objective viewpoint of events as they happened - it’s effect positively and negatively in such an organized light.

Most information is politicized on these topics or largely biased without insights into the underlying infrastructure but Vogel’a presentation gives light to all angles and perspectives from foreign leaders to the domestic public

Fantastic Book, Beautifully Orated

I was initially skeptical of this book given how long it is and the fact that previously I have never read about modern chinese history. I found the background was sufficient to grasp the main content of the novel, and the writing was wholly clear and digestible for the uninitiated. No matter what your thoughts are on 20th century chinese political developments, I think we all can read this book to gain a more rigorously founded understanding of what decisions were made, who made them, and insights into why they were made. I found myself saddened when the book ended that there would never be a sequel as Deng is dead, which I think speaks to the power of this biography.

Comprehensive & illuminating

Best explanation of the political maneuvering required to move China beyond Mao’s disastrous policies — without undermining Mao’s legend or undermining the party’s authority

Poorly Selected Reader

The book was great, but the performance left much to be desired. I’m not trying to be unkind but the voice and speech pattern were wooden, rigid and robotic in a way that detracted. More importantly, with that many Chinese terms and quotes in the book, they really should have selected someone with an ability to pronounce Chinese correctly. His Chinese pronunciation was atrocious and incomprehensible and at times that made it difficult to understand the referenced name, city or quotation.

Very informative!

The audiobook is information rich and extremely enlightening! The narrator also did a great job. Although it is a long book, I enjoyed every minute listening to it.