Deng Xiaoping is one of the most influential men in modern history and here his dramatic story, one intertwined with elite intrigues in the Chinese Communist Party, is recounted in detail by one of the most eminent scholars of Asia.
Deng was thrice purged, but managed to climb back each time, becoming de facto leader from 1978 until 1992 even though he never held the titles of leadership. He promoted wide-ranging economic reforms that led to remarkable growth and modernization, a process that has vastly improved the lives of "hundreds of millions of Chinese."
Regarding the debate over whether Deng was more despot than reformer, Ezra Vogel emphasizes the successful consequences of his economic reforms, but does not shy from criticizing his failures. The portrait that emerges is of a visionary authoritarian who helped his nation overcome the self-inflicted wounds of Mao Zedong and achieve enormous economic advances.