Chiang Kai-shek was the man who lost China to the Communists. As leader of the nationalist movement, the Kuomintang, Chiang established himself as head of the government in Nanking in 1928. Yet although he laid claim to power throughout the 1930s and was the only Chinese figure of sufficient stature to attend a conference with Churchill and Roosevelt during the Second World War, his desire for unity was always thwarted by threats on two fronts. Between them, the Japanese and the Communists...

China is the oldest continuous civilization on earth and holds a unique global place in the 21st century, this books uniquely wide focus shows what makes it such a special country, with topics stretching from the natural wonders including mountains and rivers to the Silk Road, the technological innovations of printing and the compass and the modern vibrant cities of today as well as famous monuments such as the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Great Wall.In this new and updated ed...

With the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815, the next two centuries for France would be tumultuous. Bestselling historian and political commentator Jonathan Fenby provides an expert and riveting journey through this period as he recounts and analyses the extraordinary sequence of events of this period from the end of the First Revolution through two others, a return of Empire, three catastrophic wars with Germany, periods of stability and hope interspersed ...

The history of the Second World War is usually told through its decisive battles and campaigns. But behind the front lines, behind even the command centres of Allied generals and military planners, a different level of strategic thinking was going on. Throughout the war the 'Big Three' -- Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin -- met in various permutations and locations to thrash out ways to defeat Nazi Germany -- and, just as importantly, to decide the way Europe would look after the war. This ...

China's spectacular growth and expanding global role have led to visions of the 21st century being dominated by the last major state on earth ruled by a Communist Party. In this new edition of his widely acclaimed book, renowned China expert Jonathan Fenby shows why such assumptions are wrong. He presents an analysis of China under Xi Jinping which explores the highly significant political, economic, social and international challenges it faces, each involving structural difficulties that ...

The Times Book of the YearBBC History Magazine Book of the YearDaily Telegraph Book of the YearBOOK OF THE WEEK - The Times‘The strength of this book lies in the cold realities it delivers. “The thirteen months of 1947-48,” writes Fenby, “provide trenchant examples of how realpolitik can serve a wider purpose if those in power know how to use it.” Crucible captures perfectly the urgency of the time…Read this ...

A fortnight after the evacuation at Dunkirk some 150,000 British troops were still stuck in France. As the German advance thundered west these Allied soldiers and airmen were faced with a mad dash to the coast in the hope that a troop-ship awaited them there. One such vessel was the 'Lancastria', a 16,000-ton liner pressed into service and now anchored off the port of St-Nazaire. On 17 June 1940, ready to head for home, the ship was bombed by the Luftwaffe. As she sank, between 3,500 and 4...

Asian empires led the world economically, scientifically and culturally for hundreds of years, and posed a constant challenge to the countries of Europe. How and why did those empires gain such power, and lose it? What legacies did they leave?This major book brings together a team of distinguished historians and 200 illustrations to survey seven great Asian empires that rose and fell between 800 CE and the mid-20th century: the Mongol Empire, Ming Dynasty of China, Khmer Empire, Ot...

They were the most powerful rulers on earth.The mighty Qin Shi Huangdu (r. 221-210 BC), who began the construction of the Great Wall.The long-lived Han emperor Wudi (r. 141-87 BC), who developed China as a centralized Confucian state.The soldier-scholar Yongle (r. 1402-24 AD), who raised the Ming dynasty to its military peak.The dowager empress Cixi (r. 1861-1908 AD), who rose from humble Manchu origins to rule over all China.In The Dragon Throne...

'China's reemergence as a global economic powerhouse has compressed into a single generation an industrial and urban revolution on a scale the world has never seen. Its transformation looks to many foreigners, and to millions of newly prosperous Chinese, like a near-miraculous escape from the agonies of its recent history - late imperial, warlord-republican and Maoist. The great merit of Jonathan Fenby's vivid account of the years since 1850 is to underline how heavily that history still w...

In 1914, Europe was not the only continent coming to terms with a new form of conflict. Through a mix of complex alliances and global ambition, the war had spread to northern China, where the German-held port of Tsingtao became a key battleground. To strike a blow at Kaiser Wilhelm's naval forces, Britain and its ally Japan lay siege to the port during October and November. In The Siege of Tsingtao, the first of the Penguin China Specials on the First World War, celebrated histori...

This completely revised and fully updated edition of the book Bill Bryson called superb” presents a sharply insightful, authoritative portrait of France today as it struggles to live up to its vision of itself amid storm clouds that won’t go away.France on the Brink was chosen as a New York Times book of the year and hailed by the Wall Street Journal as a comprehensive and entertaining diagnosis of what ails French society” when the first edition was pu...