cover image The Search for Modern China

The Search for Modern China

Jonathan D. Spence. W. W. Norton & Company, $29.95 (876pp) ISBN 978-0-393-30780-1

Spence advocates democracy in China and presents contemporary views of its oppressive history, including Chiang Kai-Shek's fascist supporters and the bloodbath known as the Cultural Revolution. ``A splendid achievement, this sweeping . . . epic chronicle compresses four centuries of political and social change into a sharply observant narrative,'' said PW . Photos. (Apr.)