This page lists all recent China books, defined broadly as any English-language book on or from China that was published in the last year. We update this list every other Thursday. If you think we have missed a book, please contact us at listings@chinabooksreview.com, with the publisher link. The categories below are designed to present a large quantity of books by broad groupings, not as a perfect classification, and carousels are capped at 25 titles. Blurbs by Taili Ni, adapted from publisher copy.
Most recent
A Visual Journey into Yunnan
Lost Horizon Rediscovered
Institute for Planets
A collection of 177 photographs leading readers through Yunnan's stunning landscapes.
Buy
The Funeral Cryer
Wenyan Lu
A novel about a professional mourner who has faced social isolation due to the stigma around her job.
Buy
World on the Brink
How America Can Beat China in the Race for the Twenty-First Century
Dmitri Alperovitch, Garrett M. Graff
An argument for how the U.S. can maintain its place as the world's top superpower in the face of a rising China
Buy
Red Dragon Bombers
China's Long-range Bomber Force since 1956
Andreas Rupprecht
An analysis of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's bomber force
Buy
The Fire of the Dragon
Ian Williams
An examination of the new cold war's many fronts, from Taiwan and the South China Sea to the Indian frontier, the Arctic and cyberspace.
Buy
A-Gong’s Table
Vegan Recipes from a Taiwanese Home
George Lee
A rendering of food through the memories of family and of home: over 90 plant-based recipes.
Buy
50 Useful Tips on China
From a guy who almost got it
Ralph Jennings
A collection of questions and answers about China from an outside perspective.
Buy
Glorious Qing
Decorative Arts in China, 1644-1911
Claudia Brown
A comprehensive exploration of the world of Qing dynasty decorative arts, showcasing their craftsmanship, cultural symbolism, and artistic legacy.
Buy
How Australia is Studied in China
Eds. Richard Hu, Diane Hu
A collection of contributions from Chinese and Australian scholars on how Australia is taught, learned, researched, communicated and promoted in China.
Buy
The Spray and Pray Squadron
3rd Bomb Squadron, 1st Bomb Group, Chinese-American Composite Wing in World War II
Margaret Mills Kincannon
A chronicle of the exploits of the 3rd Bomb Squadron of an experimental Chinese-American Composite Wing, in which young men from two nations joined forces to fight a common enemy
Buy
Chinese Science Fiction
Concepts, Forms, and Histories
Eds. Mingwei Song, Nathaniel Isaacson, Hua Li
A volume that brings together emerging approaches and addresses shifting paradigms in Chinese science fiction studies.
Buy
Space Production by Migrants in China’s Urban Villages
The Case of Beijing
Shiyu Yang
A case study of two urban villages in Beijing examining how migrants shape the social production of space.
Buy
Sound and Silence
My Experience with China and Literature
Yan Lianke
A collection of reflections on literary censorship in China from renowned author Yan Lianke.
Buy
Critical Plant Studies in Taiwan
Ed. Iping Liang
An historical overview of vegetal ecocriticism in Taiwan.
Buy
Civilization-States of China and India
Reshaping the World Order
Ravi Dutt Bajpai
An examination of some of the pivotal episodes in the modern history of China and India to argue that their behaviors reflect the self-identity of a civilization-state.
Buy
Psychosis and Schizophrenia in Hong Kong
Navigating Clinical and Cultural Crossroads
Eric Yu Hai, Yvonne Treffurth
A focus on psychosis studies in Hong Kong.
Buy
Uyghur Women Activists in the Diaspora
Restorying a Genocide
Susan J. Palmer, Dilmurat Mahmut, Abdulmuqtedir Udun
A presentation of the life stories of ten Uyghur women who chose to leave China before 2005.
Buy
Reading Tolkien in Chinese
Religion, Fantasy and Translation
Eric Reinders
A reading of multiple Chinese translations of Tolkien's writing to uncover new and unique perspectives that enrich the meaning of the original texts.
Buy
The Book of Secrets
A Personal History of Betrayal in Red China
Xin Ran
A behind-the-scenes account of a family torn apart by the Tiananmen Square massacre and military intelligence officer JIe's attempts to open up the Chinese system to the people.
Buy
Hello, Kitty
And Other Short Stories
Anne Stevenson-Yang
A collection of surreal stories depicting a Chinese society in freefall.
Buy
New Cold Wars
China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West
David E. Sanger
An account of how the U.S. finds itself in a volatile rivalry with Xi Jinping's China and Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Buy
Countering China’s Great Game
A Strategy for American Dominance
Michael Sobolik
A plan for American victory over the Chinese Communist Party
Buy
Crony Comprador Capitalism
The Institutional Origins of China's Rise and Decline
Jianyong Yue
A multidisciplinary redefinition of China's model of crony comprador capitalism.
BuyRecent Politics Books
World on the Brink
How America Can Beat China in the Race for the Twenty-First Century
Dmitri Alperovitch, Garrett M. Graff
An argument for how the U.S. can maintain its place as the world's top superpower in the face of a rising China
Buy
Red Dragon Bombers
China's Long-range Bomber Force since 1956
Andreas Rupprecht
An analysis of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's bomber force
Buy
The Fire of the Dragon
Ian Williams
An examination of the new cold war's many fronts, from Taiwan and the South China Sea to the Indian frontier, the Arctic and cyberspace.
Buy
New Cold Wars
China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West
David E. Sanger
An account of how the U.S. finds itself in a volatile rivalry with Xi Jinping's China and Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Buy
Countering China’s Great Game
A Strategy for American Dominance
Michael Sobolik
A plan for American victory over the Chinese Communist Party
Buy
Crony Comprador Capitalism
The Institutional Origins of China's Rise and Decline
Jianyong Yue
A multidisciplinary redefinition of China's model of crony comprador capitalism.
Buy
All That Glistens
Chinese Party-State Influence in Britain
Martin Thorley
An exposé of the secrets behind the Sino-British ‘golden age,' revealing a relationship built on Chinese government influence, corruption and global capitalism
Buy
Divided Isles
Solomon Islands and the China Switch
Edward Acton Cavanough
An explanation of how the Solomon Islands' 2019 switch from recognizing Taiwan to China played out on the ground and its potential consequences.
China’s Age of Abundance
Origins, Ascendance, and Aftermath
Feng Wang
A systematic historical and sociological analysis of China's economic transformation between the 1980s and the present day.
Buy
Switching Diplomatic Recognition Between Taiwan and China
Economic and Social Impact
Ed. Chien-Huei Wu
An examination of the economic and social impacts of switching diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China, and vice versa.
Buy
The Belt and Road City
Geopolitics, Urbanization, and China's Search for a New International Order
Simon Curtis and Ian Klaus
An explanation of how China's Belt and Road Initiative seeks to reshape international order and how it has catalyzed a new era of infrastructural geopolitics.
Buy
China’s Rising Foreign Ministry
Practices and Representations of Assertive Diplomacy
Dylan M.H Loh
An investigation of the role of the foreign ministry in Chinese diplomacy.
Buy
One and All
The Logic of Chinese Sovereignty
Pang Laikwan
An analysis of the historical roots of Chinese sovereignty through a survey of the four different political structures of modern China: imperial, republican, socialist and post-socialist.
Buy
The EU and China
Avoiding a New Cold War
Eds. Thomas Meyer and José Luis de Sales Marques
An edited analysis of how the multiple-modernities approach may help strengthen the strategic autonomy of the EU and foster EU-China relations at a time when some believe a new cold war may be on the horizon.
Buy
China-US Rivalry and Regional Reordering in Latin America and the Caribbean
Eds. Li Xing, Javier Vadell
An analytical framework for understanding the reordering process in the Latin American and Caribbean region, driven and shaped by China-US rivalry.
Buy
China’s Asymmetric Statecraft
Alignments, Competitors, and Regional Diplomacy
Yuxing Huang
A scholarly analysis of China's foreign policy and what it means for the future of its international relationships.
Buy
Developmental Peace
Theorizing China's Approach to International Peacebuilding
Wenting Meng
An exploration of China's approach to peacebuilding through the Developmental Peace framework.
Buy
The Devil and Communist China
From Mao Down to Xi
Steven W. Mosher
An argument that the ancient Chinese political theory Legalism contains diabolical self-aggrandizement that established the totalitarian rule of China today.
Buy
We Win, They Lose
Republican Foreign Policy and the New Cold War
Matthew Kroenig, Dan Negrea
A look at the "New Cold War" with the People's Republic of China.
Buy
People’s Diplomacy
How Americans and Chinese Transformed US-China Relations During the Cold War
Kazushi Minami
A scholarly work that uncovers the transformative role played by Americans and Chinese in reshaping US-China relations amidst the complexities of the Cold War era.
Buy
The Return of Great Powers
Russia, China, and the Next World War
Jim Sciutto
An analysis of the realities of the new post-post-Cold War era, the increasingly aligned Russian and Chinese governments, and the flashpoint of a new global nuclear arms race.
Buy
Embracing Communist China
America's Greatest Strategic Failure
James Fanell, Bradley Thayer
An argument explaining how China rose in power and how the U.S. could have prevented it.
BuyRecent History Books
The Spray and Pray Squadron
3rd Bomb Squadron, 1st Bomb Group, Chinese-American Composite Wing in World War II
Margaret Mills Kincannon
A chronicle of the exploits of the 3rd Bomb Squadron of an experimental Chinese-American Composite Wing, in which young men from two nations joined forces to fight a common enemy
Buy
Civilization-States of China and India
Reshaping the World Order
Ravi Dutt Bajpai
An examination of some of the pivotal episodes in the modern history of China and India to argue that their behaviors reflect the self-identity of a civilization-state.
Buy
Corky Lee’s Asian America
Fifty Years of Photographic Justice
Corky Lee
A collection of over 200 photos celebrating the history and cultural impact of the Asian American social justice movement.
Buy
Searching for Billie
A journalist's quest to understand his mother's past leads him to discover a vanished China
Ian Gill
A family story set against the backdrop of China's turbulent century between the Anglo-Chinese wars and the advent of communism.
Buy
A Danger Shared
A Journalist's Glimpses of a Continent at War
Melville Jacoby
A visual history of wartime Asia as seen by foreign correspondent Melville Jacoby.
Buy
Diplomacy Ends at Midnight
The Long Return of Hong Kong to China
Dalena Wright
A scholarly history of how British and Chinese government actors vied for ownership of Hong Kong in the years leading up to 1997.
Buy
Rosie Young
A Lifetime of Selfless Service
Moira M.W. Chan-Yeung
A history of Professor Young's remarkable career in medical education and administration at the University of Hong Kong.
Buy
Taiwan’s Earthquake Chronicle
The Tremors of Resilience and Historical Struggle
PulsePrint Publishers
A history of earthquakes in Taiwan.
Buy
Patterns in the State of Chu
Zhang Qing (tr. Luo Zhongwu)
An exploration of the patterns found on artifacts from China's ancient Chu State.
Buy
Parallel Lives, Congenial Visions
Christian Precursors of Modernity in China and Japan
Leopold Leeb
A history of cultural exchanges between East Asia and the West through comparative biographical sketches of 60 personalities from China and Japan.
Buy
Contingent Loyalties
State Agents in the Yunnan Borderlands 1856-1911
Diana Zhidan Duan
A study of the local actors who shaped Yunnan's history, from the mid-19th-century Hui rebellions to the early-20th-century revolutions.
Buy
Made in China
When US-China Interests Converged to Transform Global Trade
Elizabeth O'Brien Ingleson
A look into how the interests of U.S. businesses and the Chinese state aligned to reframe the China market in the 1970s.
Buy
Seeking News, Making China
Information, Technology, and the Emergence of Mass Society
John Alekna
A rural and urban history telling the story of the rise of mass society in China through the lens of communication techniques and technology.
Buy
The China Firm
American Elites and the Making of British Colonial Society
Thomas Larkin
An examination of the Hong Kong-based Augustine Heard & Company, the most prominent American trading firm in treaty-port China, to explore the ways American elites made and were made by British colonial society.
Buy
Protestant Missionaries in China
Robert Morrison and Early Sinology
Jonathan A. Seitz
An evaluation of the role of 19th century missionaries in the early development of the cross-cultural relationship between China and the English-speaking world, with a focus on Robert Morrison.
Buy
Following Christ and Confucius
Wang Mingdao and Chinese Christianity
Christopher Payk
A biography and theological analysis of Wang Mingdao, the spiritual father of China's House Church movement.
Buy
Bernhard Sindberg
The Schindler of Nanjing
Peter Harmsen
A biography of Bernhard Arp Sindberg, who saved the lives of thousands of Chinese civilians after the fall of Nanjing.
Buy
The Geography of Injustice
East Asia's Battle Between Memory and History
Barak Kushner
An argument that the war crimes tribunals in East Asia formed and cemented national divides that persist into the present day.
Buy
Markets with Chinese Characteristics
Economic LIberalism in Modern China
Evan W. Osborne
A history of economic liberalism in modern China.
Buy
Singer of the Land of Snows
Shabkar, Buddhism, and Tibetan National Identity
Rachel H. Pang
The story of Shabkar's role in the development of the idea of Tibet.
Buy
Not Your China Doll
The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong
Katie Gee Salisbury
The story of Anna May Wong, the first Asian American movie star.
Buy
Feeding Ghosts
A Graphic Memoir
Tessa Hulls
A graphic memoir about three generations of Chinese women from Shanghai to Hong Kong to the United States.
Buy
The Translator’s Daughter
A Memoir
Grace Loh Prasad
A memoir about the author's immigration to the U.S. under threat of political persecution from Chiang Kai-shek's dictatorship in Taiwan.
Buy
Subjects and Sojourners
A History of Indochinese in France
Charles Keith
A social, cultural, and political history of the Indochinese in France during French colonial rule in Indochina.
Buy
Recent Society/Culture Books
A Visual Journey into Yunnan
Lost Horizon Rediscovered
Institute for Planets
A collection of 177 photographs leading readers through Yunnan's stunning landscapes.
Buy
A-Gong’s Table
Vegan Recipes from a Taiwanese Home
George Lee
A rendering of food through the memories of family and of home: over 90 plant-based recipes.
Buy
50 Useful Tips on China
From a guy who almost got it
Ralph Jennings
A collection of questions and answers about China from an outside perspective.
Buy
Glorious Qing
Decorative Arts in China, 1644-1911
Claudia Brown
A comprehensive exploration of the world of Qing dynasty decorative arts, showcasing their craftsmanship, cultural symbolism, and artistic legacy.
Buy
How Australia is Studied in China
Eds. Richard Hu, Diane Hu
A collection of contributions from Chinese and Australian scholars on how Australia is taught, learned, researched, communicated and promoted in China.
Buy
Chinese Science Fiction
Concepts, Forms, and Histories
Eds. Mingwei Song, Nathaniel Isaacson, Hua Li
A volume that brings together emerging approaches and addresses shifting paradigms in Chinese science fiction studies.
Buy
Space Production by Migrants in China’s Urban Villages
The Case of Beijing
Shiyu Yang
A case study of two urban villages in Beijing examining how migrants shape the social production of space.
Buy
Sound and Silence
My Experience with China and Literature
Yan Lianke
A collection of reflections on literary censorship in China from renowned author Yan Lianke.
Buy
Critical Plant Studies in Taiwan
Ed. Iping Liang
An historical overview of vegetal ecocriticism in Taiwan.
Buy
Psychosis and Schizophrenia in Hong Kong
Navigating Clinical and Cultural Crossroads
Eric Yu Hai, Yvonne Treffurth
A focus on psychosis studies in Hong Kong.
Buy
Uyghur Women Activists in the Diaspora
Restorying a Genocide
Susan J. Palmer, Dilmurat Mahmut, Abdulmuqtedir Udun
A presentation of the life stories of ten Uyghur women who chose to leave China before 2005.
Buy
Reading Tolkien in Chinese
Religion, Fantasy and Translation
Eric Reinders
A reading of multiple Chinese translations of Tolkien's writing to uncover new and unique perspectives that enrich the meaning of the original texts.
Buy
China’s Left-Behind Children
Caretaking, Parenting, and Struggles
Xiaojin Chen
A close look at the lives of China's left-behind children – children whose parents migrated to more developed areas and who live with one parent or extended family members.
Buy
The Modern Art of War
Sun Tzu's Hidden Path to Peace and Wholeness
Hunter Liguore
A new take on Sun Tzu's The Art of War that challenges readers to see the text not as a tool for warfare but as a guide to inner harmony and personal fulfilment.
Buy
Wandering from China to America
A Life Straddling Different Worlds
Xiuwu R. Liu
An autobiography exploring simple living, curiosity about the world, Chinese and American societies and more.
Buy
Ageing with Smartphones in Urban China
From the Cultural to the Digital Revolution in Shanghai
Xinyuan Wang
An ethnographic study of the smartphone revolution in Shanghai.
Buy
North Korean Migrants in China
Whether Illegal Migrants, Refugees, or Human Trafficking Victims
Hyoungah Park
A collection of interviews with North Korean migrants in China exploring their stories of escape from North Korea and their experiences in China.
Buy
Guide to the Flowers of Western China
Christopher Grey-Wilson, Phillip Cribb
A revised and updated edition of an essential field guide and reference work on the flowers of western China.
Buy
Monkey King and the World of Myths
The Monster and the Maze
Maple Lam
The first book of a graphic novel series: the legendary Monkey King tries to save the world from a mysterious new threat.
Buy
The Life of Tu Fu
Eliot Weinberger
A montage of 58 poems that capture the life and times of the Tang Dynasty poet Tu Fu (712-770 AD).
Buy
The Lantern and the Night Moths
Qiu Jin and Fei Ming (tr. Yilin Wang)
A collection of five of China's modern and contemporary poets in translation.
Buy
The Temporality of Festivals
Approaches to Festive Time in Ancient Babylon, Greece, Rome, and Medieval China
Ed. Anke Walter
A scholarly volume examining the specific temporality of festivals.
Buy
Narrative Devices in the Shiji
Retelling the Past
Lei Yang
A systematic analysis of narratives in early Chinese historical writings from 400 BCE to 100 CE, with a focus on the Shiji.
BuyRecent Fiction Books
The Funeral Cryer
Wenyan Lu
A novel about a professional mourner who has faced social isolation due to the stigma around her job.
Buy
The Book of Secrets
A Personal History of Betrayal in Red China
Xin Ran
A behind-the-scenes account of a family torn apart by the Tiananmen Square massacre and military intelligence officer JIe's attempts to open up the Chinese system to the people.
Buy
Hello, Kitty
And Other Short Stories
Anne Stevenson-Yang
A collection of surreal stories depicting a Chinese society in freefall.
Buy
Chamber after Chamber
Saara Myrene Raappana
A narrative told in poems following the narrator and her cousin through China and the U.S.
Buy
Choo-Choo Adventures
Exploring the China-Laos Railway
N/A
A children's picture book following a cast of animals taking a train journey from China to Laos.
Buy
The Oxherd Boy
Parables of Love, Compassion, and Community
Regina Linke
An illustrated fable inspired by thousands of years of Chinese thought about a young boy who explores the many ways to make meaning and find joy in the everyday.
Buy
The Water Margin
Outlaws of the Marsh: The Epic Tale of Brotherhood, Bravery and Rebellion in Imperial China
Shi Naian (trans. J.H. Jackson)
A new translation of a Chinese classic tale set in 12th century Imperial China.
Buy
Missives from the Masses
Su Tong (tr. Josh Stenberg)
A collection of short stories about the strange accounts of the hidden lives eked out during China's turbulent economic rise.
Chinese Folktales
Ed. J.K. Jackson
A collection of stories drawn from over three thousand years of Chinese folklore.
Buy
Batshit Seven
A Novel
Sheung-King
A novel about a millennial living through the Hong Kong protests, as he struggles to make sense of modern life and the parts of himself that just won't gel.
Buy
The Fox Wife
A Novel
Yangsze Choo
A novel that explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection.
Buy
Platinum Bible of the Public Toilet
Ten Queer Stories
Cui Zi'en
A collection of short stories that portray the emergence of queer cultures in postsocialist China.
Buy
Aftershock
A Novel
Zhang Ling (tr. Shelly Bryant)
A novel about a catastrophic disaster in China that triggers a mother's heartbreaking choice and a daughter's reconcilliation with the past
Buy
The Enemies of Art
Feng Jicai (tr. Olivia Milburn)
A novel following three young artists in 1960s Tianjin.
Buy
Stray Dog in China
Vaoese Kava
A story about a Chinese-Samoan boy who meets a stray dog while walking with his grandmother.
Buy
The Chinese Groove
A Novel
Kathryn Ma
A novel about an optimistic immigrant with big dreams, dire prospects, and a fractured extended family.
Buy
Grandma’s Roof Garden
Tang Wei (tr. Kelly Zhang)
A children's picture book about Granny's garden on the rooftop of her Chengdu apartment building.
Buy
River East, River West
Aube Rey Lescure
A historical fiction book set against the backdrop of developing modern China that follows two generations searching for belonging and opportunity.
Buy
Red Envelope Mystery
The Secret of the Chinese New Year
Zhang Lee
A children's book and interactive experience celebrating Chinese New Year.
Buy
Exorcism
Han Song (tr. Michael Berry)
A novel that takes readers on a haunting journey into the depths of a futuristic hospital, blending elements of science fiction and horror.
Buy
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
Ed. Cosima Bruno, Lucas Klein, Chris Song
A handbook offering the first systematic overview of modern and contemporary Chinese literature from a translation studies perspective.
Buy
One in a Billion
One Man's Remarkable Odyssey through Modern-Day China
Nancy Pine
A story of one outspoken man who illuminates the souls of a billion ordinary Chinese citizens.
Buy