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This book is a must-read for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the complex political dynamics in China. John Garnaut's meticulous research and powerful storytelling take you on a gripping journey through the rise and fall of prominent Communist Party leader Bo Xilai. Filled with shocking revelations and personal power struggles, this book sheds light on the corrupt and brutal underbelly of Chinese politics. Prepare to be captivated by this unique and eye-opening account, which exposes the myth of a unified one-party state and delves into the intersections of personal ambitions and national politics.

Riley is your virtual thrift companion, and here to help you find your next favourite read. You can also find in-stock similar reads linked by topic and genre here!

2013 Walkley Book Award Finalist

When news of the murder trial of prominent Communist Party leader Bo Xilai's wife reached Western attention, it was apparent that, as with many events in the secretive upper echelons of Chinese politics, there was more to the story. Now, as the Party's 18th National Congress oversees the biggest leadership transition in decades, and installs the Bo family's long-time rival Xi Jinping as president, China's rulers are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their poisonous internal divisions behind closed doors.

Bo Xilai's breathtaking fall from grace is an extraordinary tale of excess, murder, defection, political purges and ideological clashes going back to Mao himself, as the princeling sons of the revolutionary heroes ascend to control of the Party. China watcher John Garnaut examines how Bo's stellar rise through the ranks troubled his more reformist peers, as he revived anti-'capitalist roader' sentiment, even while his family and associates enjoyed the more open economy's opportunities. Amid fears his imminent elevation to the powerful Standing Committee was leading China towards another destructive Cultural Revolution, have his opponents seized their chance now to destroy Bo and what he stands for? The trigger was his wife Gu Kailai's apparently paranoid murder of an English family friend, which exposed the corruption and brutality of Bo's outwardly successful administration of the massive city of Chongqing. It also led to the one of the highest-level attempted defections in Communist China's history when Bo's right-hand man, police chief Wang Lijun, tried to escape the ruins of his sponsor's reputation.

Garnaut explains how this incredible glimpse into the very personal power struggles within the CCP exposes the myth of the unified one-party state. With China approaching superpower status, today's leadership shuffle may set the tone for international relations for decades. Here, Garnaut reveals a particularly Chinese spin on the old adage that the personal is political.

'Illuminating ... By far the most carefully researched and sober analysis of a scandal that has fascinated the world' New York Review of Books

'Garnaut's father was the Australian ambassador to Beijing, so he knows the scene and has connections that lift his account above other instant rivals ... A brave attempt to crack the code of a closed society' Sunday Times (UK)

'His insight is unique and well applied to this extraordinary, intergenerational set of events that Hollywood couldn't dream up if it tried' ABC Radio, Sydney


Author: John Garnaut
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 152
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Publication Date: 14 Mar 2005

The Rise and Fall of the House of Bo: Penguin Special

ISBN: 9780143569350
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This book is a must-read for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the complex political dynamics in China. John Garnaut's meticulous research and powerful storytelling take you on a gripping journey through the rise and fall of prominent Communist Party leader Bo Xilai. Filled with shocking revelations and personal power struggles, this book sheds light on the corrupt and brutal underbelly of Chinese politics. Prepare to be captivated by this unique and eye-opening account, which exposes the myth of a unified one-party state and delves into the intersections of personal ambitions and national politics.

Riley is your virtual thrift companion, and here to help you find your next favourite read. You can also find in-stock similar reads linked by topic and genre here!

2013 Walkley Book Award Finalist

When news of the murder trial of prominent Communist Party leader Bo Xilai's wife reached Western attention, it was apparent that, as with many events in the secretive upper echelons of Chinese politics, there was more to the story. Now, as the Party's 18th National Congress oversees the biggest leadership transition in decades, and installs the Bo family's long-time rival Xi Jinping as president, China's rulers are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their poisonous internal divisions behind closed doors.

Bo Xilai's breathtaking fall from grace is an extraordinary tale of excess, murder, defection, political purges and ideological clashes going back to Mao himself, as the princeling sons of the revolutionary heroes ascend to control of the Party. China watcher John Garnaut examines how Bo's stellar rise through the ranks troubled his more reformist peers, as he revived anti-'capitalist roader' sentiment, even while his family and associates enjoyed the more open economy's opportunities. Amid fears his imminent elevation to the powerful Standing Committee was leading China towards another destructive Cultural Revolution, have his opponents seized their chance now to destroy Bo and what he stands for? The trigger was his wife Gu Kailai's apparently paranoid murder of an English family friend, which exposed the corruption and brutality of Bo's outwardly successful administration of the massive city of Chongqing. It also led to the one of the highest-level attempted defections in Communist China's history when Bo's right-hand man, police chief Wang Lijun, tried to escape the ruins of his sponsor's reputation.

Garnaut explains how this incredible glimpse into the very personal power struggles within the CCP exposes the myth of the unified one-party state. With China approaching superpower status, today's leadership shuffle may set the tone for international relations for decades. Here, Garnaut reveals a particularly Chinese spin on the old adage that the personal is political.

'Illuminating ... By far the most carefully researched and sober analysis of a scandal that has fascinated the world' New York Review of Books

'Garnaut's father was the Australian ambassador to Beijing, so he knows the scene and has connections that lift his account above other instant rivals ... A brave attempt to crack the code of a closed society' Sunday Times (UK)

'His insight is unique and well applied to this extraordinary, intergenerational set of events that Hollywood couldn't dream up if it tried' ABC Radio, Sydney


Author: John Garnaut
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 152
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Publication Date: 14 Mar 2005