Becoming China
The Story Behind the State
Jeanne-Marie Gescher
Bloombury
784 pages; Rs 799
As China’s global profile appears to expand relentlessly and impacts on the destinies of nations, far and near, big and small, a new genre of guidebooks to figuring out China and its policies — what one may call “China Made Easy’ books — has begun to emerge in increasing profusion. Jeanne-Marie Gescher’s Becoming China at over 700 pages, is several guidebooks packed into one but by the time one has patiently ploughed through to the end, there are few insights which could frame a new perspective on what remains a rather
