THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Rau's condensed history reflects the new objectivity which has been made possible by the opening of relations with China; even questionable facts (particularly the explanation of the death of Lin Piao) are accepted at face value but the conflict between Mao and Chiang is dispassionately recalled. Readers at this age level will be most interested in the glimpses of China today which briefly, but quite effectively convey the popular interest in athletics and physical fitness, the dramatic but still incomplete drive for women's liberation, the greatly improved standard of living (still spartan by American standards), the democratic organization of the People's Liberation Army, innovations like the ""barefoot doctors,"" the pervasive influence of the Party and even the revival of traditional handicrafts like ivory carving and puppetry. No one area of life is closely scrutinized, but Rau manages to capture small events -- such as the verbal reprimanding of reckless cyclists by child traffic guards -- which make a very unfamiliar society seem human rather than monolithic and forbidding.