Margaret MacMillan
Like all good polemics, this one raises more questions than it answers. Can the Chinese Communist Party, which now numbers some 70 million people, really be as monolithic or as cunning as he suggests? Is the American establishment really of one mind on China? Is there no possibility of the Chinese middle classes, or at least part of them, joining forces with the country's long-suffering peasants to push for greater democracy? We will have to wait and see, but, in the meantime, Mann has done a fine job of making sure that we won't do so complacently.
— The Washington Post
Library Journal
Former Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, Mann suggests that (contrary to wishful thinking) authoritarian government will not necessarily wither away in China as capitalism expands. With a five-city tour. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Washington Post
[An] angry, lively little book…Like all good polemics, this one raises more questions than it answers…Mann has done a fine job.”
Spectator (London)
Exceptionally clear without being patronizing…[Mann] has written…one of the clearest and most searching critiques of those who have unhooked their brains and hearts when it comes to the suffering of hundreds of millions.”
Clay Chandler
If Americans revered veteran China correspondents the way Chinese communists revere their founding revolutionaries, former Los Angeles Times bureau chief Jim Mann would justly be hailed as an ‘immortal.’”
National Review
This little book, The China Fantasy, is worth more than many fat tomes. It will sharpen the minds and tongues of the China watchers and debaters no matter where they stand.”
AudioFile
Narrator Jeff Riggenbach’s deep voice reads the material straight from the page. His ‘no frills’ style and perfect diction never drop or mispronounce a word, allowing listeners to concentrate on the information.”
New York Sun
Mr. Mann has perfectly described the blend of hope and cynicism that currently underpins American policy toward China.”
