Michael A. Schuman - Superpower Interrupted: The Chinese History of the World

Michael Schuman takes the reader on an invaluable journey deep into the hinterland of the Chinese psyche, tying Xi Jinpings modern ambitions to the countrys centuries-old narratives. From the rise and fall of dynasties to painful interactions with neighboring barbarians and unsavory westerners, Schumans scholarship vividly describes Chinas exceptionalism and how it underlines the ruling communist partys objectives to this day.

Richard McGregor, author of The Party: The Secret World of Chinas Communist Rulers and Xi Jinping: The Backlash

Schuman skillfully narrates more than three thousand years of history through a Chinese lens that places China at the center of the world and Chinese civilization above all others. Superpower Interrupted provides crucial insights into Xi Jinpings Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation that seeks to restore China to its rightful place as world leader. Superpower Interrupted is essential reading for all those who want a deeper understanding of the historical roots of Chinas national objectives.

Bonnie Glaser, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Superpower Interrupted is a concise and elegant survey of China as a dominant power in Eurasia. Michael Schuman provides an illuminating perspective on the Middle Kingdoms rise, fall, and reemergence as a geopolitical superpower and the evolution of its ties with the rest of the world. Those wondering how a rejuvenated China will conduct itself in world affairs will do well to read Superpower Interrupted for its deep insights and rich historical knowledge.

Minxin Pei, Claremont McKenna College, author of Chinas Crony Capitalism

Timely, eloquent and lively throughout, Michael Schuman has written a book that covers Chinas long pastand hints at its future.

Peter Frankopan, Oxford University, author of The Silk Roads

This is the best book about China I have read in a long, long time. Michael Schuman elegantly walks us through Chinese views of the outside world and reveals why China even today has an antagonistic relationship with the West.

James McGregor, author of One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China

All too often, foreign commentators talk about China mainly as a foil for their own concerns. Michael Schuman looks at China on its own terms, revealing how their own history has shaped how the Chinese see their place in the world and their future. If you want to understand the Chinese Dream, Superpower Interrupted is a great place to begin.

Patrick Chovanec, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

As noted historian Jonathan Spence argued some twenty-two years ago, the West has long been guilty of seeing China through the same lens that it sees itself. Michael Schuman provides a fascinating antidote to this bias, examining Chinas worldview through its own lens. Is history on Chinas side? Schuman offers some tantalizing hints to the answer of that critical question.

Stephen Roach, senior fellow Yale University, former chairman Morgan Stanley Asia

In his extraordinary book, Michael Schuman has provided the West with a much-needed gifta look at how the long history of China has shaped the China of today. Anyone who wants to really understand China needs to read Superpower Interrupted.

David Rubenstein, co-executive chairman, The Carlyle Group

To my father