Want to know what books Orville Schell recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Orville Schell's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
Theodore H. White, Annalee Jacoby | 4.05
From the first outbreak of hostilities in northern China in 1937 to the Japanese surrender aboard the U.S.S.Missouri in 1945, this book re-creates the decade of upheaval when China was caught in the grip of revolution and war and torn from its feudal past. The authors Time-Life correspondents during the war years, report firsthand on the rise and fall of the Kuomintang nationalist government and its leader, Chiang Kaishek, who ironically misunderstood his own people as much as the Japanese. At the same time, we see how the Communists won popular support both with more extensive... more From the first outbreak of hostilities in northern China in 1937 to the Japanese surrender aboard the U.S.S.Missouri in 1945, this book re-creates the decade of upheaval when China was caught in the grip of revolution and war and torn from its feudal past. The authors Time-Life correspondents during the war years, report firsthand on the rise and fall of the Kuomintang nationalist government and its leader, Chiang Kaishek, who ironically misunderstood his own people as much as the Japanese. At the same time, we see how the Communists won popular support both with more extensive social reforms and with their unrelenting war against Japan. White and Jacoby also shed new light on the actions of "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (the only American who assessed the Chinese situation accurately) and the diplomacy of Ambassador Patrick J. Hurley, also providing a classic account of the Chinese peasant and his revolution which has since proved to be the recurrent pattern of events in the developing Third World. less 
Orville SchellAnother great epic of misunderstanding is Thunder Out of China by Theodore H White and Annalee Jacoby. This is about Chiang Kai-shek, the failure of his experiment, and the corruption and complete unravelling of China under the pressures of Japanese occupation and war. (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
2
The scandalous story of sinologist Sir Edmund Backhouse, Victorian scholar & confidence trickster, is laid bare by distinguished historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, who describes the racy intrigue & bizarre fantasy life of the Manchu Imperial court with pace & an infectious delight in the process of historical research. more The scandalous story of sinologist Sir Edmund Backhouse, Victorian scholar & confidence trickster, is laid bare by distinguished historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, who describes the racy intrigue & bizarre fantasy life of the Manchu Imperial court with pace & an infectious delight in the process of historical research. less Orville SchellIt’s such a wonderful story of how the East and the West merge but never meet. China is so indirect, which allows for so much deception and shadow-play. It gets to the point where you just don’t know what’s real and what’s not real – whereas Westerners pride themselves on being honest and getting to the bottom of what’s really happening. The Chinese are constantly trying to maintain face. If you... (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
3
In a serious effort to divine the secret of the West's success in achieving wealth and power, Yen Fu, a Chinese thinker, undertook, at the turn of the century, years of laborious translation and commentary on the work of such thinkers as Spencer, Huxley, Adam Smith, Mill, and Montesquieu. In addition to the inevitable difficulties involved in translating modern English into classical Chinese, Yen Fu was faced with the formidable problem of interpreting and making palatable many Western ideas which were to a large extent antithetical to traditional Chinese thought.
In an absorbing... more In a serious effort to divine the secret of the West's success in achieving wealth and power, Yen Fu, a Chinese thinker, undertook, at the turn of the century, years of laborious translation and commentary on the work of such thinkers as Spencer, Huxley, Adam Smith, Mill, and Montesquieu. In addition to the inevitable difficulties involved in translating modern English into classical Chinese, Yen Fu was faced with the formidable problem of interpreting and making palatable many Western ideas which were to a large extent antithetical to traditional Chinese thought.
In an absorbing study of Yen Fu's translations, essays, and commentaries, Benjamin Schwartz examines the modifications and consequent revaluation of these familiar works as they were presented to their new audience, and analyzes the impact of this Western thought on the Chinese culture of the time. Drawing on a unique knowledge of both intellectual traditions, Schwartz describes the diverse and complex effects of this confrontation of Eastern and Western philosophies and provides a new vantage point to assess and appreciate these two disparate worlds. less Orville SchellThis is all about a wonderful translator and philosopher at the turn of the last century, Yen Fu, who went to Britain. He had one question that he really wanted to answer: Why is the West so possessed of dynamic, Promethean energy, and why is (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
4
Orville SchellThe first book that is worthy of note is Jonathan Spence’s To Change China: Western Advisers in China. It’s the first book he wrote as a young professor. It really is about the discontinuity between China and the West, and efforts by various Westerners – largely Brits but some Americans – to change China from 1620 through 1960, starting with Adam Schall way back in the Ming dynasty, Peter Parker... (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
5
The second of Leys's trilogy on China's Cultural Revolution, describing the cultural and political upheaval under Mao's regime and expressing criticism of its Western supporters. more The second of Leys's trilogy on China's Cultural Revolution, describing the cultural and political upheaval under Mao's regime and expressing criticism of its Western supporters. less 
Ian BurumaThis book came like a bolt of lightning, because in the seventies – despite the fact that the Cultural Revolution was still going on – many China watchers were starry eyed about Maoism as a wonderful experiment. Those who went to China saw what they wanted to see, and usually came back with glowing accounts of a New China, and a uniquely collective and altruistic human being not driven by... (Source)
Richard McGregorHe was a great defender of Chinese culture, and the refinements of Chinese culture. He wrote a wonderful essay once on the art of calligraphy. But he made a trip back to China in 1976 and was absolutely horrified at the changes that had taken place. For example, Mao had knocked down the old city walls. There’s one chapter where he goes to find one of the famous old city gates, which he thinks has... (Source)
Orville SchellHe is a marvellous writer, and was one of those people who dared to say things. The book came out in 1977, as interest in China was beginning to incubate. He was in Beijing and he looked at the toll that had been taken on Chinese culture, archaeology, religion – he looked right down the barrel of the gun and described the Cultural Revolution in all its horrific dimension. He’s very Western, an... (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
Don't have time to read Orville Schell's favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
