Rating: 
Summary: Very thought-provoking, but better suited for academic study
Review: This book is obviously a milestone assuming that its contents are authentic. The reader is privy to inside decision making in the critical months and a view of the government machine in action across China in the period leading up to the massacre and immediately after.
The main point of this review is to give the opinion that this book is not a suitable introduction to Tiananmen for the novice on this subject. I have always wanted to read an account of the massacre and the political factors leading up to it, and thought I'd start with this. My feeling is that without any prior knowledge beyond what everyone has heard, the impact of this book will be lessened somewhat. Which shouldn't take anything away from the book, only warn novice readers that this might be better put on hold until you've read something else. The reason is simply the massive amount of unfiltered and not always well-organized information presented. The book is so dry at times that it is hard to maintain interest, unless in fact questions were being answered that had been nagging at the reader, which is less likely to a new reader in the area.
Rating:
Summary: Very thought-provoking, but better suited for academic study
Review: This book is obviously a milestone assuming that its contents are authentic. The reader is privy to inside decision making in the critical months and a view of the government machine in action across China in the period leading up to the massacre and immediately after.
The main point of this review is to give the opinion that this book is not a suitable introduction to Tiananmen for the novice on this subject. I have always wanted to read an account of the massacre and the political factors leading up to it, and thought I'd start with this. My feeling is that without any prior knowledge beyond what everyone has heard, the impact of this book will be lessened somewhat. Which shouldn't take anything away from the book, only warn novice readers that this might be better put on hold until you've read something else. The reason is simply the massive amount of unfiltered and not always well-organized information presented. The book is so dry at times that it is hard to maintain interest, unless in fact questions were being answered that had been nagging at the reader, which is less likely to a new reader in the area.
Rating: 
Summary: Witnessing Evil Isn't So Horrifying
Review: This book provides an excellent study on how governments commit evil. The story it tells is a disappointment (dramatically or theatrically) in that there is no climactic scene in which an evil dictator, sitting in the shadows, utters some malice-filled, murderous instruction like "Let them die" or "Teach them a lesson". Life is more complicated than that. The final order to crack down on the protesters came about as a result of complex relationships among various bureaucracies and various governing officials. Had it been up to those nominally in charge, the Politburo Standing Committee, the crack-down may never have occurred. On the other hand, because calls for freedom were inherently violative of the governing principles of the Communist bureaucracy, one wonders whether the crack-down was nevertheless inevitable -- no matter who had the final word. That's not to say the it was solely the system which was at fault. Some of the decision-makers were clearly concerned with their own well-being, remembering the dangers they faced during the Cultural Revolution. Ultimately, they will have to accept responsibility. All-in-all, this book would be excellent for students of political science who wish to see how the CCP truly makes political decisions, before the Hollywood version of the incident comes along and reduces the events down to white and black hats. (This all assumes that the documents are authentic, which the editors readily admit cannot yet be determined.)
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