China Dreamin’

The China Fantasy: How Our Leaders Explain Away Chinese Repression, by James Mann (Viking, 127 pp., $19.95)

THIS is a short book, but an invaluable one. Every word counts, and the topic is one of the most important of our time. James Mann headed the Beijing bureau of the Los Angeles Times, and this is his third book about China. He has also written Rise of the Vulcans, about George W. Bush’s “war cabinet.” It is correct to call Mann a China watcher; it is equally correct to call him a watcher of the China watchers.

About the Author

Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger was a senior editor of National Review and a book fellow at National Review Institute.

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The China Fantasy: How Our Leaders Explain Away Chinese Repression, by James Mann (Viking, 127 pp., $19.95)

THIS is a short book, but an invaluable one. Every word counts, and the topic is one of the most important of our time. James Mann headed the Beijing bureau of the Los Angeles Times, and this is his third book about China. He has also written Rise of the Vulcans, about George W. Bush’s “war cabinet.” It is correct to call Mann a China watcher; it is equally correct to call him a watcher of the China watchers.