Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2010
320 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
China's political and economic growth in the past three decades is one of astonishing, epochal dimensions. The country has undergone a remarkable transformation on a scale similar to that of the Industrial Revolution in the West. The most remarkable part of this transformation, however, has been left largely untold—the central role of the Chinese Communist Party.
As an organization alone, the Party is a phenomenon of unique scale and power. Its membership surpasses seventy-three million, and it does more than just rule a country. The Party not only has a grip on every aspect of government, from the largest, richest cities to the smallest far-flung villages in Tibet and Xinjiang, it also has a hold on all official religions, the media, and the military. The Party presides over large, wealthy state-owned businesses, and it exercises control over the selection of senior executives of all government companies, many of which are in the top tier of the Fortune 500 list.
In The Party, Richard McGregor delves deeply into China's inner sanctum for the first time, showing how the Communist Party controls the government, courts, media, and military, and how it keeps all corruption accusations against its members in-house. The Party's decisions have a global impact, yet the CPC remains a deeply secretive body, hostile to the law, unaccountable to anyone or anything other than its own internal tribunals. It is the world's only geopolitical rival of the United States, and is steadfastly poised to think the worst of the West.
In this provocative and illuminating account, Richard McGregor offers a captivating portrait of China's Communist Party, its grip on power and control over China, and its future.
"Starred Review. [R]evelatory and scrupulously reported...smart, authoritative book." - Publishers Weekly
"McGregor's portrait unravels the ambiguities surrounding this secretive state's party apparatus." - Library Journal
"An astute, well-crafted work that should be enormously useful in understanding China's role in the world." - Kirkus Reviews
"This is a marvellous and finely written study of how China is really run, and how its strange but successful system of Leninist capitalism really works. It should be read by anyone doing business with or just trying to understand China." - Bill Emmott, former editor of The Economist
"Superb in its depiction and demystification of the most important force at work in China today. Essential, riveting guide to how the rising power really works." - Jonathan Fenby, author of The Penguin History of Modern China
"Illuminating and richly-textured. ... The Party will be invaluable for anyone trying to make sense of China’s future plans and choices. It has certainly enriched my own understanding of the country." - James Fallows, National Correspondent for The Atlantic
"Richard McGregor is one of the best foreign journalists who have ever reported from China. The Party is a fine contribution for those who want to know about the rising power they will face in the decades ahead." - Ezra Vogel, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
This information about The Party was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Richard McGregor is a reporter for the Financial Times and the publication's former China bureau chief. He was born in Sydney, Australia, where he also started his career as a journalist. He has reported from North Asia for nearly two decades and currently lives in London.
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