The Red Emperor
On sale
29th August 2024
Price: £24.99
‘Michael Sheridan is one of the best informed and wisest writers on China’ – Chris Patten, last governor of Hong Kong
The Red Emperor presents an eye-opening portrait of Xi Jinping, the man who presides over 1.4 billion people and the second largest economy on earth. Born a ‘princeling’ to one of Communist China’s ruling families, the young Xi was exiled to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. He fought his way back to the top by stealth, privilege and guile. In 2012, following the spectacular fall of his rival Bo Xilai, Xi Jinping became the leader of China.
In a compulsively readable narrative, veteran foreign correspondent Michael Sheridan takes the reader from the poor, isolated country of Xi’s youth to the military and economic superpower of today. In Xi’s new China, family mafias struggle for power amid murder, corruption and sex scandals as ministers and generals vanish in purges. No one is safe in his techno-security state. Xi is an absolute ruler whose word is law on everything from war and peace to the ruthless campaign against Covid-19. He aims to dominate world trade, to defeat Western democracy and to make China the supreme power in the East. A loner and a risk-taker, he is the most consequential leader of our time.
Drawing on intimate stories from the closed world of China’s leading families and two decades of first-hand reporting, Michael Sheridan sheds new light on the history and politics of China. The book reveals that behind the façade of the Chinese Communist Party there is a modern dynasty and a new emperor.
The Red Emperor presents an eye-opening portrait of Xi Jinping, the man who presides over 1.4 billion people and the second largest economy on earth. Born a ‘princeling’ to one of Communist China’s ruling families, the young Xi was exiled to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. He fought his way back to the top by stealth, privilege and guile. In 2012, following the spectacular fall of his rival Bo Xilai, Xi Jinping became the leader of China.
In a compulsively readable narrative, veteran foreign correspondent Michael Sheridan takes the reader from the poor, isolated country of Xi’s youth to the military and economic superpower of today. In Xi’s new China, family mafias struggle for power amid murder, corruption and sex scandals as ministers and generals vanish in purges. No one is safe in his techno-security state. Xi is an absolute ruler whose word is law on everything from war and peace to the ruthless campaign against Covid-19. He aims to dominate world trade, to defeat Western democracy and to make China the supreme power in the East. A loner and a risk-taker, he is the most consequential leader of our time.
Drawing on intimate stories from the closed world of China’s leading families and two decades of first-hand reporting, Michael Sheridan sheds new light on the history and politics of China. The book reveals that behind the façade of the Chinese Communist Party there is a modern dynasty and a new emperor.
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Reviews
This is a fast-paced and well-written biography. Sheridan identifies the key events and people, and then works them together into a dramatic narrative.
Michael Sheridan is one of the best informed and wisest writers on China. This book on Xi Jinping should be widely read by all who are interested in the life and times of the man who is likely to be the last Emperor of China.
Extraordinary . . . compelling
. . . accessible and very readable, especially given the complexities of the material at hand. Historical fact is easily explained and interwoven with anecdotes from different corners which make for a really gripping read. If you've ever wanted to learn more about the man behind today's China, then this is the perfect gateway.
Immensely readable, it deftly navigates the complexities of the subject matter, effortlessly and plainly explaining historical fact and bringing it to life with gripping anecdote.
Boisterous, no-holds-barred . . . the fact Sheridan is not beholden to maintaining access to China, like some other recent authors of books on Xi, makes this a fairly comprehensive account for the general reader.
a racily readable account of Xi that moves fluidly between the attested public record and more contested allegations. It progresses clearly and helpfully through Xi's backstory, career, likely influences and espoused ideas.