"Excellent." The Economist
"A gripping account." South China Morning Post
"Well worth reading." The Morning Star
"A persuasive and readable narrative." History Today
"Elegantly written." The Tablet
"An excellent study." The Chartist
"Engaging." Asia Times


The events of 1949 in China reverberated across the world and throughout the rest of the century. That tumultuous year saw the dramatic collapse of Chiang Kai-shek's 'pro-Western' Nationalist government, overthrown by Mao Zedong and his communist armies, and the foundation of the People's Republic of China.

China 1949 follows the huge military forces that tramped across the country, the exile of once-powerful leaders and the alarm of the foreign powers watching on. The well-known figures of the Revolution are all here. But so are lesser known military and political leaders along with a host of 'ordinary' Chinese citizens and foreigners caught in the maelstrom. They include the often neglected but crucial role played by the 'Guangxi faction' within Chiang's own regime, the fate of a country woman who fled her village carrying her baby to avoid the fighting, a prominent Shanghai business man and a schoolboy from Nanyang, ordered by his teachers to trek south with his classmates in search of safety. Shadowing both the leaders and the people of China in 1949, Hutchings reveals the lived experiences, aftermath and consequences of this pivotal year -- one in which careers were made and ruined, and popular hopes for a 'new China' contrasted with fears that it would change the country forever.

The legacy of 1949 still resonates today as the founding myth, source of national identity and root of the political behaviour of modern China. Graham Hutchings has written a vivid, gripping account of the year in which China abruptly changed course, and pulled the rest of world history along with it.

The events of 1949 in China reverberated across the world and throughout the rest of the century. That tumultuous year saw the dramatic collapse of Chiang Kai-shek's ?pro-Western' Nationalist government, overthrown by Mao Zedong and his communist armies, and the foundation of the People's Republic of China.

China 1949 follows the huge military forces that tramped across the country, the exile of once-powerful leaders and the alarm of the foreign powers watching on. The well-known figures of the Revolution are all here. But so are lesser known military and political leaders along with a host of ?ordinary' Chinese citizens and foreigners caught in the maelstrom. They include the often neglected but crucial role played by the ?Guangxi faction' within Chiang's own regime, the fate of a country woman who fled her village carrying her baby to avoid the fighting, a prominent Shanghai business man and a schoolboy from Nanyang, ordered by his teachers to trek south with his classmates in search of safety. Shadowing both the leaders and the people of China in 1949, Hutchings reveals the lived experiences, aftermath and consequences of this pivotal year -- one in which careers were made and ruined, and popular hopes for a ?new China' contrasted with fears that it would change the country forever.

The legacy of 1949 still resonates today as the founding myth, source of national identity and root of the political behaviour of modern China. Graham Hutchings has written a vivid, gripping account of the year in which China abruptly changed course, and pulled the rest of world history along with it.

The victory of Chinese Communist forces over those of China's Nationalist Government in 1949 is one of the great climacterics of the twentieth century. Not only did it define China's subsequent political trajectory, but it also shaped the futures of Taiwan and Hong Kong. China 1949 provides a vivid picture of the final act in the long-drawn-out struggle for power in China. Drawing on a wide range of private papers, archival and Chinese-language sources, Graham Hutchings has achieved the difficult feat of producing a scholarly history that is also a real page turner. He has an unerring ear for the arresting phrase, and writes with elegance and élan. His pacy narrative, viewed through multiple prisms of a varied cast of protagonists ranging from political and military leaders to 'ordinary' individuals, is peppered with piquant detail that brings the unfolding events of 1949 vividly to life.