Shanghai: The Story of China's Most Dynamic City (Michael Dillon)

Michael Dillon's Shanghai: The Story of China's Most Dynamic City is an engaging look at the modern history of one of the world's most influential urban centers. Dillon has an extensive expertise in Chinese history and lived there for some time. He traces Shanghai's remarkable journey from a modest fishing settlement to a global financial and cultural powerhouse, with the brunt of his focus starting in the 1840’s with the end of the Opium Wars and the opening of Shanghai to foreigners. Rather than presenting a simple chronological account, he shows how the city's identity has been shaped by commerce, foreign influence, political revolution, and rapid economic growth. This broad perspective makes the book accessible to both general readers and those with a deeper interest in Chinese history.

Shanghai has been a city of contradictions. It’s been mostly cosmopolitan for much of the past 200 years, yet also revolutionary during the Cultural Revolution. Dillon examines the wealth and innovation that define the modern city while also acknowledging the inequality, organized crime, and political tensions that were ever present.

Overall, Shanghai is an informative and compelling study that successfully captures the city's rich past and its continuing role in shaping China's future. It is highly recommended for readers interested in Chinese history and urban development. 

MY RATING: 4

Exit Stalin: The Soviet Union as a Civilization, 1953-1991 (Mark B. Smith)

Mark B. Smith's Exit Stalin: The Soviet Union as a Civilization, 1953-1991 opens a window behind the Iron Curtain, giving readers a glimpse into life in the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. Smith argues that Soviet society became more complex, with citizens experiencing both greater personal security and continuing political repression until the last few years of Mikhail Gorbachev’s rule when the economy cratered but repression mostly eased. 

Smith explores education, housing, literature, science, and popular culture, showing how ordinary people navigated the contradictions of Soviet society. This approach gives readers a richer understanding of the country, enhancing the stories of each of the Soviet leaders that succeeded Stalin. His discussion of reform under Nikita Khrushchev, stability and stagnation of Leonid Brezhnev's era, and eventual collapse of the Soviet system under Mikhail Gorbachev is balanced and carefully supported by historical evidence. A major focus of the book is on the dissidents in Soviet life (such as Andrei Sakharov and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn) and how the KGB and Soviet leadership varied in their handling of individuals who dissented with the goals of Soviet leadership. 

One of the key questions Smith addresses centers on the primary causes of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a question that many who study Soviet history have debated over the last 35 years. Overall, Exit Stalin is a solid contribution to the study of Soviet and Russian history

MY RATING: 4

The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR, and America at the Crossroads (Randall Sullivan)

The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR, and America at the Crossroads by Randall Sullivan recounts not just a pivotal moment in baseball history but much of the context that helped set the stage for July 1933’s “Game of the Century” in Chicago. While the book highlights many of the players and the details of the game, Sullivan spends about half of the narrative detailing baseball and American life in the 1920’s and early 1930’s.

To his credit, Sullivan avoids overwhelming the reader with statistics, instead focusing on character, motivation, and atmosphere. His descriptions of players, fans, and journalists create vivid scenes that invite readers into the era. You learn about some of the lesser-known (to today’s baseball fans) stars of the early 1930’s: guys like Lloyd and Paul Waner, Rick Farrell, and Pepper Martin. 

Some sections include extensive background information. About 200 pages dive into the backstory of baseball and America between 1919 and 1933, from the “Black Sox” scandal and appointment of Judge Kennsaw Landis as baseball’s first commissioner to the World’s Fair and America’s political environment. 

If you’re looking for a story on the All-Star game itself, this book may not be for you due to that extra context. However, as a history book that shows the connection between baseball, American life, and big city politics, The First All-Star Game is a detailed account of how the game came to take place and how a “one-time” event turned into a midsummer spectacle that has lasted nearly a century.

MY RATING: 3.5