Deng Xiaoping: A Transitional Figure in China's History

Deng Xiaoping is the seminal figure. He shapes the future for the next 40 years. I think if you want an understanding of contemporary Chinese politics, all of which occurs in and around the tumultuous events at the end of the Cultural Revolution leading to the reform period of the 1980s. You need to have a handle on this man's life. Ezra Vogel, good friend of mine, non-agenarian at Harvard University, one of the smartest guys I know,. who's about to produce the definitive study on the history of China-Japan relations. A formidable mind.