Tiananmen Square: The Making of a Protest

Firstly I would like to thank our former foreign secretary Mr. Vijay Gokhale for writing such a short, crisp but informative book on China and covering the incident of Tiananmen Square.I must admit that my understanding of the Square incident was completely wrong. Like many of us I believed these protests were result of Chinese people getting fed up of Communist system and wanted a western style democracy. How wrong I was.Thanks to this book I now understand that a lot more was going on behind the scenes in Communist Party, basically infighting among the members to gain supremacy and wield more influence. How these poor students got caught in this political storm is what told in this book.The books also mentions the role of foreign media during the incident especially American media which didn't think twice to check the information they were receiving whether they were true or not. They were more interested in sensationalizing whole protest and reported speculations and rumours as true news.Overall this book really enhanced my knowledge and understanding of the inner working of Communist Party of China. After finishing the book I feel I must read more on China and understand them better. As China's neighbour it is very important for us to have clear understanding of Chinese system, their ideologies, their fears and concerns.Must read for all.

The book covers the events of the incident aptly and the language is easy. It doesn’t feel like a boring history text. However one needs to have read the background of China and CCR to understand the events mentioned in the book fully

Just finished 'Tianenmen Square' by Vijay Gokhale. It has enhanced my understanding of recent Chinese history and the way they have worked their economic miracle. Although the US benefited for decades, it is clear their approach was short sighted. In many ways, democracy seems to hinder the collective national effort of a authoritarian state that can take care of their people's material needs. The CCP is the religion, the parent of their wealth and prosperity. The Chinese people have over the decades developed tremendous self esteem.What can India learn from this? How can it adapt its ways? It raises questions in one's mind. It is a remarkable book, narrated with so much detail without allowing it to burgeon into a tome, and with so much insight... I think we need to relearn nationalism and self-interest in our country. Thank you for bringing out this book Mr Gokhale. I wish there was an after-note on Xi's rise to the top..and what you see happening after Xi!

Very informative

For the history buff. Never saw such a comprehensive account of the incident. Totally unbiased, reveals the power of one party in China, the students who "crossed the line" in the protests, the irresponsible reporting by the western media and the hypocrisy of the West in dealing with the communist China. The author writes about his first hand experience of the incident, which is very different from what western media presented to us and what is available on the internet. Totally worth reading❤️

I always wanted to read book on Tiananmen square massacre. This book is really well-balanced book. It gives us neutral point of view. Vijay Gokhale was diplomat at that time in China, who else will be better person to write this book. This book is one of the comprehensive book on the acts that led to the dreadful event. We always tend to look at China with western lens which is always problematic for us Indians. I used to have lots of admiration for Diang Xiaoping for development he did in China. Now I have different views on him after reading this book. The book not just gives an account of the making of a protest but also a glimpse of how Chinese leadership works. It is necessary to learn about how it reached this stature. There is no doubt that Tiananmen Square has played a major part in the emergence of China.Recommended for anyone who is interested in learning about China. It will help you in knowing about their leaders, their policies, their thinking, their actions during a crisis. Vijay Gokhale observations about the ignorance, the pre-judgements, the limitations by the western media are worth understanding. It is still very much relevant.

The events leading to TIANANMEN SQUARE in 1989 and thereafter has been elegantly chronicled by Vijay Gokhale. The book also gives a short background on Communist Party of China which is very relevant to the main plot. The writings are succinct. A short and very easy to read book capsuled in 176 pages inclusive of references. I liked the style of his writing.This book reminds of the book ‘Say Nothing ‘ by Patrick Keefe who has beautifully chronicled the history of Irish Army Republic in the background of a woman who went missing and found murdered.

This is extremely well written book. I had only a fleeting understanding of Tiananmen square incident. But after reading the book, I understood the detailed mechanics of the Chinese politicians, students and how the situation at Tiananmen landed up where it did. I also got an understanding of how and why the western media misread the entire situation from the perspective of the Chinese people's desire for democracy.While it is a non-fiction book, it reads like a racy, fiction, action thriller. The writing style is very good and your grammar is very precise. I finished the book in two days. Could not keep it down. Well done!