Böcker av J. O. P. Bland

British journalist J.O.P. Bland, described as "the best-informed Westerner on China in the world", promises a "record of idleness", of leisurely cruises through the backwaters of the Chinese countryside. But he brings us much more. Through his account of wanderings in the time-trapped heartland of China and his personal encounters with the locals in the very early 20th century, Bland offers deep and colorful insight into the East-meets-West riddle in the ancient empire's last days. 978-988-8107-83-4

One of the most popular and controversial Chinese history books ever written, China under the Empress Dowager is also one of the best. Authors Bland and Backhouse take you inside the Forbidden City during the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi (1861-1908), a world of power-thirsty eunuchs, concubines and Mandarins, intrigue, bitter antagonism and ruthless reprisals. The book was unique for its time in its use of sometime controversial Chinese source materials. As entertaining as it is enlightening, the book that presaged the fall of the Qing dynasty is as readable today as it ever was.