The Geography of Contemporary China: The Impact of Deng Xiaoping's Decade by TerryCannon; Alan JenkinsReview by: R. HodderArea, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Jun., 1992), p. 188Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20003097 .

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188 Book reviews

book was written in 1988 and though much has changed in the details, it is hard to dispute the broad conclusions. The essays are of a high standard (which is more than can be said of some of the maps) and examine many facets of the environmental, resource, industrial and trade-related potential of the region. The focus is obviously economic-geographic (with some interesting material on the military dimension). One would have liked to see more on the fascinating social, political and ethnic issues (we now know far more than before, for example, on the plight of northern minorities), but sadly to commission such essays would probably have meant recruiting non-geographers. Even so this valuable book is testimony to the fascination which the resource frontier has for the geographical mind; would that the same fascination were exercised by the

metropolitan core. Denis J B Shaw

University of Birmingham

The geography of contemporary China: the impact of Deng Xiaoping's decade edited by Terry Cannon and Alan Jenkins London: Routledge, 1990, 316 pp, I&14.95 paperback ISBN 0 4415 00102 1

The editors of The geography of contemporary China, and the contributors, have written an excellent and much-needed book. China's development is a notoriously difficult field of study, and it is only too easy to take refuge in oversimplification. The book successfully avoids this danger. It is easy to read and at the same time pays due regard to the complexities and difficulties inherent in any study and interpretation of the reforms implemented in China since 1978.

The main aim of this volume is to provide an introduction to China's changing geography changes which have been determined largely by government policies. The book is not restricted to the period since 1978, for it is argued that in order to understand the changes which the reforms have brought about, a historical perspective is required.

The book comprises twelve chapters including the introduction and a postscript. The chapters do not have to be read in order, although there is a logical progression. The introduction lays out the basic political and administrative context, noting key political and ideological tensions. The following ten chapters focus on those issues which are regarded as central to an understanding of

China's contemporary geography: regional policy (Cannon); the historical influence (Edmonds); the physical environment (Derbyshire); population (Jowett); rural policies (Leeming and Powell); industry, energy and transport (Howard); urbanisation (Tang and Jenkins); foreign investment and trade (Philips and Yeh); the impact of economic development on the environ

ment (Glaeser); and strategy and geopolitics (Jenkins). The postscript considers the events that occurred immediately after the Tiananmen Massacre in June 1989.

A few questions arise from a reading of this book. Is it entirely satisfactory to imply that what has happened in Communist China can best be analysed in three 'periods'? Is it always valid to assume clear causal links between 'geographical' changes and changes in economic policy?

Why is there so little emphasis on the interaction of the reforms implemented in different sectors of the economy? Also, why are some of the major writers on China not at least referred to? One has the uncomfortable feeling that the Editors and some of the other contributors are a little too self-consciously and defensively geographical in their approach.

Written for A-level and undergraduate students, this book provides an introductory textbook on contemporary China that is lucid, readable and authoritative. It is very well produced and it contains a number of excellent maps and some helpful touches-like the chronology of major events from the Opium Wars right up to the events of June 1989 in Beijing. There is also an interesting and valuable selection of case studies. The geography of contemporary China will be

welcomed by all those wishing to understand the often dramatic events that have been taking place in China over the past decade or so.

R Hodder London School of Economics

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