Two books I finished today
Feb. 11th, 2006 09:05 pmM. John Harrison, Light
I was very impressed by this, but find it hard to write about it coherently.
( Spoilery burblings )
W. Scott Morton, Charlton M. Lewis, China: Its History and Culture
This was the first step in the educate-myself-about-China project, a slim volume covering China's development from Neolithic times almost to the present (2003). It necessarily skims the surface, and it's fairly dry and educational, but it seemed like a good place to start. About the last third covers the last century or so, which I suppose is both inevitable and proper. I was intrigued by the hints of old, old patterns playing out in the early days of the revolution, puzzled by the loss of momentum after 1600 or so. I'd have liked a bit more on the science and technology, but history is mostly written by and for arts majors, I suppose. Writers of space opera about encounters with alien cultures could probably do worse than to study the history of western interactions with China for inspiration.
I was very impressed by this, but find it hard to write about it coherently.
( Spoilery burblings )W. Scott Morton, Charlton M. Lewis, China: Its History and Culture
This was the first step in the educate-myself-about-China project, a slim volume covering China's development from Neolithic times almost to the present (2003). It necessarily skims the surface, and it's fairly dry and educational, but it seemed like a good place to start. About the last third covers the last century or so, which I suppose is both inevitable and proper. I was intrigued by the hints of old, old patterns playing out in the early days of the revolution, puzzled by the loss of momentum after 1600 or so. I'd have liked a bit more on the science and technology, but history is mostly written by and for arts majors, I suppose. Writers of space opera about encounters with alien cultures could probably do worse than to study the history of western interactions with China for inspiration.
