BOOK REVIEW: Superpower Interrupted: The Chinese History of the World

By Michael Schumann, Public Affairs, Hachette Book Club, New York. Hardcover, with bibliography, notes, and index. 356 pp, US22.19

Reviewed by: Philip Bowring

American fascination with China is endless. It has spawned many experts on China, academic, and journalist alike. It has at times blinded its diplomats, not least Henry Kissinger. But all too often the knowledge exists in a vacuum of ignorance about China’s Asian neighbors, particularly those to the south and southeast.

Michae…