These astonishing black-and-white images--more than 300, most never before seen in the West--provide a kaleidoscopic portrait of China from the late Qing dynasty through the present. There is little poetry in these images of a country in violent transition; they narrate a tale of constant uprisings, revolutions, and purges; even photos of Westernized Peking social life carry allusions to political strife and opium addiction. Yale historian Jonathan Spence (God's Chinese Son, 1996, etc.) and his wife, Chin (also at Yale), detail the events of the past 100 years in an accompanying text. (Random; $65.00 until 12/31/96; $75.00 thereafter; Oct.; 264 pages; ISBN 0-679-44980-9; author tour)
