Rating: 
Summary: I was riveted.
Review: A few of the reviewers have mentioned that the book contains nothing new. That may be the case for people who have studied the situation in depth or were there at the time. But lots of Americans, like me, only knew what they saw on the news or read in the papers. For us, the book is a real eye-opener with many surprises.I also disagree with the characterization of this book as "dry." I couldn't put it down. If the expository narrative bits weren't in there and the book consisted of the documents only, it might have been tiresome after a while. But whoever put this together added just enough background to maintain the sense of tension and gravity. It's very suspenseful--a neat trick considering the one thing everybody already knows is how the story ended.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, Shocking, but very dry
Review: A review of this book isn't necessary considering the extensive reviews already given, so I will just give you opinion on the book.
I don't think most of us will be shocked that the Chinese government ordered the killing of their own people, they do that all the time. I think they will be fascinated to see the thought process behind the actions, and that is where this book really shines.
I do warn all casual readers, that I don't see this book as being something most will enjoy. It is long, it is dry and sometimes it is down right boring, but that is the nature of politics.
For people who are extremely interested in Chinese Political Strategy, Cultural Political Strategy, Political Science or Governmental Procedures, this will be a real page turner. Luckily, I enjoy these topics and make a living off of such ideas and subjects, but my friends who do not did not enjoy the book as much as I did. Which is why I give it 4 stars, a five star book would have attempted to make this read more accessible to the masses, and add more commentary about what the readers were reading to increase their understanding. To fully grasp all that is going on you must know a good deal of Post-Communist Chinese history.
If any of this sounds fun for you this book is a treasure, if not, I suggest waiting for a good program on the History Channel.
Rating:
Summary: an indelible spot
Review: I couldn't agree more about the affair itself -- papers, meetings... every details. I'm 11 at that time, I knew nothing abuot it but from newspaper and TV, so what? Who is to blame, the governor or the students? The question is children on today. History will teach lessons
Rating:
Summary: Hundreds of internal government and Party documents
Review: In 1989 Chinese troops turned against their own people, crushing the largest pro-democracy demonstrations in China's history: over ten years later comes the first attempt to analyze these events from the Chinese Communist Party's side of the story with the publication of The Tianamen Papers. Hundreds of internal government and Party documents provide a clearer set of insights on why the Chinese government undertook to fire upon their own people. The Tianamen Papers is an essential guide to understanding.
Rating:
Summary: From a Chinese
Review: Never has there been a book more vivid and truthful at presenting the Chinese government, its top decision making process, and the agitation, determinations, intelligence, manipulations, and openness of its leaders. This is more than just a recording on the Tiananmen Turmoil, but a chronicle from which useful reflections can always be drawn, especially now. If the Chinese Government, can be brave as to accept this book, repents its ill-doing of the past, and embrace more political openness and changes in the future, we, 1.3 billion brothers and sisters, will be the happiest people on earth. The more I read, the more I understand, and the more I pity our leaders, for their situations were so critical, futures so uncertain, and with all those uncertainties, had to decide nevertheless the directions of a whole country. You, from this book, will learn how human our leaders are, and how little we can complain, for us in the same situation would have done worse. This is a great book, and those stated above are just some of my own judgments made upon these very wonderful information whose authencity there should be no doubts, but as all unbiased information are, you will make your own judgments too, which in comparison with the opinions here, would only make the book more interesting. But only to be aware, this is a long book with many details that you might not be very interested at, go to the New York Times Web site, and the excerpts they have there might be better.
Rating:
Summary: Eye-opening, confidential material smuggled out from China
Review: OK I'll start with a disclaimer: you should not bring this book with you on your next vacation in China because this contains highly sensitive, confidential, and provocative contents. Books like these are what the Chinese government labels as materials that "threaten national security." The Tienanmen Paper is a collection of documents depicting the inner-workings and Chinese top leaders' decision on pulling in PLA (People's Liberation Army) into Beijing on June 3, 1989. These documents, which were secretively smuggled out of China, give a clear perspective on the events that lead to the massacre shortly after midnight on June 4, 1989. While the book does not add on to what we already know about the Tienanmen massacre, it does give us a feel for how decision-making works at the very lop leadership. It clearly indicates that the turmoil split the top leadership into opposing fractions. The documents confirm the fact that dismissal of Party Secretary Zhao Ziyang, who was pro-reform in the Communist Party, was not a coincidence. He was removed from office upon his firm refusal to declare martial law and send in troops to drive students out of Tienanmen. The leaders already had an idea of how to suppress any democratic sit-ins and riots as soon as students walked out from the classrooms and made their ways into Tienanmen square. A general who wanted to remain anonymous from a memoir commented, "Army is the Army. Power is what is most important to the rulers of this country. They don't care what foreigners think. They don't care what the students want. The demonstrators are threatening their power. That is what they are thinking about. So the students will die." Decisions had long been made. They just had to get rid of any opposing efforts and those who opposed. Outsiders (foreigners and Chinese who live in remote parts of the country) often think what they could not see and could not hear wasn't there. And Tienanmen Paper has filled this gap. Every gesture, voice, meeting, decision made by the leaders is laid bare. We saw gunfire, screaming, and fighting. We saw students falling, laying in blood. We saw tear gas and rubber bullets. We saw trucks and tankers sitting bumper to bumper. We saw the officers in cars racing up and down the line supervising the caravan. We saw common people demanding the soldiers turn around and leave the city. We saw other people shaking their fists and denouncing the soldiers. We saw buses and vehicles burning at intersections, windows of apartment buildings flickering. But one thing we miss: the troops called into Beijing by Yang Sheungkun, or the 38th company of the PLA, has no clue of the democratic movement started by students. The troops were brought in from some remote province of the country and they knew they had to listen to the order from above. As one bystander recalled, "The soldiers made no eye contact with the street crowd. They looked absolutely clueless and blank." This confirms the invaluable contribution by The Tienanmen Paper, a book that gives us idea of how top leaders monopolize decision-making. 4.0 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Laborious, but worth it...
Review: The "Tiananmen Papers" is a rare window into the Communist Chinese decision making process. Its fine detail (said to be three times longer in the Chinese language edition) yields unprecedented insights into the march of events that led to the bloody crushing of the Chinese democracy and anti-corruption movement of 1989. This book should cause every reader to wonder if the Chinese Communist Party can ever peacefully share or give up power - and, if it can't, what the future holds for China and the rest of Asia. I recommend "The Tiananmen Papers" to all those who really have a passion to study China - anyone else shouldn't bother as they'll never get past the first dozen pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Consistent with What We Know
Review: The Tiananmen Papers really shouldn't have been as controversial as they were--they back up what we already knew, as far as that could be done without access to Chinese archives. How the leaders interact in the descriptions is also consistent with past studies (including very respected ones), as is the process of policymaking in Beijing. The main value of the book is to get a "feel" for how political decisions are made in China. It's silly to "blast" the book as unreliable, since that's impossible to confirm in any case. The entire study of Soviet and now Chinese politics is based on educated guesses and observation. I didn't get the impression that the authors insist it be accepted as the final word on the subject.
Rating:
Summary: Important background material to supplement narratives
Review: There is no way for to know whether this book is full of true documents or fakes. However, several of my friends from the Michigan Business School who are from China believe them to be true and that is good enough for me. A few of them were actually in the square in the days leading up to the final horror. Plus, we all know from the history of the Pentagon Papers and similar events, that documentation of difficult historical events do have a way of finding their way to the light. While there are narratives of these events that are easier to read than this long and somewhat disconnected book, there is a real power that comes with reading the actual documents. Plus, it fills in some of the gaps and provides deeper background for those commentaries. The notes provided by the authors to fill in the gaps is pretty good and reads like it is true, but, again, I have no way of knowing. There are a few maps and the front of the book and 100 short biographies (a few lines each) at the back to help us keep track of who is who. But there are no pictures provided. There is a small index.
Rating:
Summary: Important background material to supplement narratives
Review: There is no way for to know whether this book is full of true documents or fakes. However, several of my friends from the Michigan Business School who are from China believe them to be true and that is good enough for me. A few of them were actually in the square in the days leading up to the final horror. Plus, we all know from the history of the Pentagon Papers and similar events, that documentation of difficult historical events do have a way of finding their way to the light. While there are narratives of these events that are easier to read than this long and somewhat disconnected book, there is a real power that comes with reading the actual documents. Plus, it fills in some of the gaps and provides deeper background for those commentaries. The notes provided by the authors to fill in the gaps is pretty good and reads like it is true, but, again, I have no way of knowing. There are a few maps and the front of the book and 100 short biographies (a few lines each) at the back to help us keep track of who is who. But there are no pictures provided. There is a small index.
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