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Rating: 
Summary: If you know anything about the PLA, don't buy this book
Review: OK, anyone who knows anything about the PLA will find this to be a very boring read. With the possible acception of the chapter on the CMC, Shambaugh provides little in the way of original insight and the rest of the book simply rehashes material that could be found in tons of better books like You Ji's the Armed Forces of China, or RAND's The PLA as Organization, which frankly are very good investments. Furthermore, Shambaugh's book is full of mistakes, including on p.1 where he states that the US use of B-1 bombers was critical to the destruction of Iraq during Desert Storm, which would be news to the US as the B-1 wasn't introduced in combat until Afghanistan. There are also examples of ships being misidentified in pictures. Not a good example of serious scholarly work. The one good thing that I can say about this book is that the footnotes are incredible. For a scholar as respected as Shambaugh who spent a decade or two on this, Modernizing China's Military was a really disappointing book,
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: Professor Shambaugh's introduction to the Chinese military is an easy to read book full of important detail and predictions. Few books out there provide a full overview of the PLA including topics such as civil-military relations, and PLA budget. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Chinese military or East Asian security.
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