China's Leaders

“Fresh, fun, and insightful. Shambaugh has written a must-read book for understanding contemporary China.”
Elizabeth C. Economy, Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution

“An engrossing mosaic of profiles that brings to life the very different men who have led China over the past decades.”
Orville Schell, Director of the Center on U.S.–China Relations, Asia Society

“A significant and important book from one of modern China’s leading analysts.”
Kerry Brown, Director of the Lau China Institute, King’s College London

“Shambaugh’s comparative leadership lens leads to some intriguing insights.”
The China Quarterly

“A highly readable and well-documented book by the doyen of China scholars.”
Global Asia

“A highly regarded and experienced specialist in the study of Chinese elite politics, Shambaugh is in his element delineating the overlaps and divergences in the leadership styles of Mao and four of his successors.”
Jeffrey Wassertrom, Chancellor’s Professor of History, University of California-Irvine

“In this fresh look at the interplay of cultural, psychological, and systemic factors shaping top Chinese leaders, Shambaugh explores how the idiosyncrasies of PRC rulers have intersected with broader changes in state behavior. Displaying extraordinary precision and perception, this book will long serve as a classic in leadership studies.”
Cheng Li, Director, John L. Thornton China Center, The Brookings Institution, and author of Chinese Politics in the Xi Era

“David Shambaugh is widely regarded as one of the world’s most astute analysts of Chinese politics, and his lucid study pays particular attention to the personalities of the five top leaders who have shaped China since the communist revolution of 1949.”
Rana Mitter, The Guardian

“David Shambaugh is now the doyen of China scholars. With his latest book, China’s Leaders: From Mao to Now, he brings his scholarship to the reach of lay audiences . . . a highly readable and well-documented book spanning modern China.”
Nayan Chanda, Global Asia

“An authoritative and highly informative introduction to the major political leaders of contemporary China.”
Michael Dillon, Professor of History and Affiliate of the Lau China Centre, King’s College, London

“A superb overview of the Chinese Communist Party’s seven-decade rule through profiles of five main leaders.”
Bookish Asia

“The book offers delightful insights that can be attributed to Shambaugh’s kaleidoscopic knowledge and his years of work as an academic in Chinese politics. Shambaugh has given students a lucid, meticulous, and very well-structured volume canvassing China’s prominent leaders.”
Modern Diplomacy

“a very good book indeed”
SupChina

“The book has a clear structure, and by emphasizing the comparison of the five leaders it is immediately clear what the book is about. Shambaugh's writing is clear and accessible, and also offers readers without much specialist knowledge on the subject a good overview of China's modern history.”
China2025

“A colourful and accessible introduction to China's five main leaders to date.”
The Telegraph

“fascinating”
Asian Affairs