
Everything Under the Heavens
How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $20.25
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Nicholas Hormann
-
By:
-
Howard W. French
About this listen
From the former New York Times Asia correspondent and author of China's Second Continent, an incisive investigation of China's ideological development as it becomes an ever more aggressive player in regional and global diplomacy.
For many years after its reform and opening in 1978, China maintained an attitude of false modesty about its ambitions. That role, reports Howard French, has been set aside. China has asserted its place among the global heavyweights, revealing its plans for pan-Asian dominance by building its navy, increasing territorial claims to areas like the South China Sea, and diplomatically bullying smaller players. Underlying this attitude is a strain of thinking that casts China's present-day actions in decidedly historical terms, as the path to restoring the dynastic glory of the past. If we understand how that historical identity relates to current actions, in ways ideological, philosophical, and even legal, we can learn to forecast just what kind of global power China stands to become - and to interact wisely with a future peer.
Steeped in deeply researched history as well as on-the-ground reporting, this is French at his revelatory best.
©2017 Howard W. French (P)2017 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Born in Blackness
- Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War
- By: Howard W. French
- Narrated by: James Fouhey
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in Blackness vitally reframes the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in the West, and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe's dehumanizing engagement with the "dark" continent. In fact, French reveals, the first impetus for the Age of Discovery was not—as we are so often told, even today—Europe's yearning for ties with Asia, but rather its centuries-old desire to forge a trade in gold with legendarily rich Black societies in the heart of West Africa.
-
-
American History World History Our History
- By Bill on 06-13-22
By: Howard W. French
-
China's Second Continent
- How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa
- By: Howard W. French
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An exciting, hugely revealing account of China’s burgeoning presence in Africa - a developing empire already shaping, and reshaping, the future of millions of people. A prizewinning foreign correspondent and former New York Times bureau chief in Shanghai and in West and Central Africa, Howard French is uniquely positioned to tell the story of China in Africa. Through meticulous on-the-ground reporting, French crafts a layered investigation of astonishing depth and breadth.
-
-
He knows Both Africa and China
- By Malick Tchakpedeou on 12-01-16
By: Howard W. French
-
A Continent for the Taking
- The Tragedy and Hope of Africa
- By: Howard W. French
- Narrated by: Mirron E. Willis
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In A Continent for the Taking, Howard W. French, a veteran correspondent for The New York Times, gives a compelling firsthand account of some of Africa's most devastating recent history. While he captures the tragedies that have repeatedly befallen Africa's peoples, French also opens our eyes to the immense possibility that lies in Africa's complexity, diversity, and myriad cultural strengths.
-
-
A story to pay your attention to
- By George on 04-30-13
By: Howard W. French
-
Imperial Twilight
- The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age
- By: Stephen R. Platt
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As one of the most potent turning points in the country's modern history, the Opium War has since come to stand for everything that today's China seeks to put behind it. In this dramatic, epic story, award-winning historian Stephen Platt sheds new light on the early attempts by Western traders and missionaries to "open" China even as China's imperial rulers were struggling to manage their country's decline and Confucian scholars grappled with how to use foreign trade to China's advantage.
-
-
Balanced readable narrative about the Opium Wars
- By Carl A. Gallozzi on 09-05-18
By: Stephen R. Platt
-
The Long Game
- China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order
- By: Rush Doshi
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 18 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Long Game, Rush Doshi draws from a rich base of Chinese primary sources, including decades worth of party documents, leaked materials, memoirs by party leaders, and a careful analysis of China's conduct to provide a history of China's grand strategy since the end of the Cold War.
-
-
fresh perspective, grand strategic view
- By ndru1 on 02-05-22
By: Rush Doshi
-
The World According to China
- By: Elizabeth C. Economy
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An economic and military superpower with twenty percent of the world's population, China has the wherewithal to transform the international system. Xi Jinping's bold calls for China to "lead in the reform of the global governance system" suggest that he has just such an ambition. But how does he plan to realize it? And what does it mean for the rest of the world? In this compelling book, Elizabeth Economy reveals China's ambitious new strategy to reclaim the country's past glory and reshape the geostrategic landscape in dramatic new ways.
-
-
Excellent Book on China Expansionism
- By WLC on 08-19-22
-
Born in Blackness
- Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War
- By: Howard W. French
- Narrated by: James Fouhey
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in Blackness vitally reframes the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in the West, and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe's dehumanizing engagement with the "dark" continent. In fact, French reveals, the first impetus for the Age of Discovery was not—as we are so often told, even today—Europe's yearning for ties with Asia, but rather its centuries-old desire to forge a trade in gold with legendarily rich Black societies in the heart of West Africa.
-
-
American History World History Our History
- By Bill on 06-13-22
By: Howard W. French
-
China's Second Continent
- How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa
- By: Howard W. French
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An exciting, hugely revealing account of China’s burgeoning presence in Africa - a developing empire already shaping, and reshaping, the future of millions of people. A prizewinning foreign correspondent and former New York Times bureau chief in Shanghai and in West and Central Africa, Howard French is uniquely positioned to tell the story of China in Africa. Through meticulous on-the-ground reporting, French crafts a layered investigation of astonishing depth and breadth.
-
-
He knows Both Africa and China
- By Malick Tchakpedeou on 12-01-16
By: Howard W. French
-
A Continent for the Taking
- The Tragedy and Hope of Africa
- By: Howard W. French
- Narrated by: Mirron E. Willis
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In A Continent for the Taking, Howard W. French, a veteran correspondent for The New York Times, gives a compelling firsthand account of some of Africa's most devastating recent history. While he captures the tragedies that have repeatedly befallen Africa's peoples, French also opens our eyes to the immense possibility that lies in Africa's complexity, diversity, and myriad cultural strengths.
-
-
A story to pay your attention to
- By George on 04-30-13
By: Howard W. French
-
Imperial Twilight
- The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age
- By: Stephen R. Platt
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As one of the most potent turning points in the country's modern history, the Opium War has since come to stand for everything that today's China seeks to put behind it. In this dramatic, epic story, award-winning historian Stephen Platt sheds new light on the early attempts by Western traders and missionaries to "open" China even as China's imperial rulers were struggling to manage their country's decline and Confucian scholars grappled with how to use foreign trade to China's advantage.
-
-
Balanced readable narrative about the Opium Wars
- By Carl A. Gallozzi on 09-05-18
By: Stephen R. Platt
-
The Long Game
- China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order
- By: Rush Doshi
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 18 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Long Game, Rush Doshi draws from a rich base of Chinese primary sources, including decades worth of party documents, leaked materials, memoirs by party leaders, and a careful analysis of China's conduct to provide a history of China's grand strategy since the end of the Cold War.
-
-
fresh perspective, grand strategic view
- By ndru1 on 02-05-22
By: Rush Doshi
-
The World According to China
- By: Elizabeth C. Economy
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An economic and military superpower with twenty percent of the world's population, China has the wherewithal to transform the international system. Xi Jinping's bold calls for China to "lead in the reform of the global governance system" suggest that he has just such an ambition. But how does he plan to realize it? And what does it mean for the rest of the world? In this compelling book, Elizabeth Economy reveals China's ambitious new strategy to reclaim the country's past glory and reshape the geostrategic landscape in dramatic new ways.
-
-
Excellent Book on China Expansionism
- By WLC on 08-19-22
-
The Avoidable War
- The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China
- By: Kevin Rudd
- Narrated by: Kevin Rudd, Rafe Beckley
- Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The relationship between the US and China, the world’s two superpowers, is peculiarly volatile. Their militaries play a dangerous game of chicken, corporations steal intellectual property, intelligence satellites peer, and AI technicians plot. The capacity for either country to cross a fatal line grows daily. Kevin Rudd, a former Australian prime minister who has studied, lived in, and worked with China for more than forty years, is one of the very few people who can offer real insight into the mindsets of the leadership whose judgment will determine if a war will be fought.
-
-
Xi and the CCP Approve this Message
- By Andrizomai on 12-04-22
By: Kevin Rudd
-
On China
- By: Henry Kissinger
- Narrated by: Nicholas Hormann
- Length: 20 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this sweeping and insightful history, Henry Kissinger turns for the first time at book length to a country he has known intimately for decades and whose modern relations with the West he helped shape. On China illuminates the inner workings of Chinese diplomacy during such pivotal events as the initial encounters between China and tight line modern European powers, the formation and breakdown of the Sino-Soviet alliance, the Korean War, and Richard Nixon’s historic trip to Beijing.
-
-
Another History of China
- By Elton on 09-23-11
By: Henry Kissinger
-
Judgment at Tokyo
- World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia
- By: Gary J. Bass
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 31 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, the world turned to the question of how to move on from years of carnage and destruction. For Harry Truman, Douglas MacArthur, Chiang Kai-shek, and their fellow victors, the question of justice seemed clear: Japan’s militaristic leaders needed to be tried and punished for the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor; shocking atrocities against civilians in China, the Philippines, and elsewhere; and rampant abuses of prisoners of war in notorious incidents such as the Bataan death march.
-
-
Biased revisionist history
- By Amazon Customer on 12-31-23
By: Gary J. Bass
-
The End of the World Is Just the Beginning
- Mapping the Collapse of Globalization
- By: Peter Zeihan
- Narrated by: Peter Zeihan
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For generations, everything has been getting faster, better, and cheaper. Finally, we reached the point that almost anything you could ever want could be sent to your home within days - even hours - of when you decided you wanted it. America made that happen, but now America has lost interest in keeping it going.
-
-
Everyone dies except Americans
- By preetam on 06-22-22
By: Peter Zeihan
-
Eighteen Days in October
- The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East
- By: Uri Kaufman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
October 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, a conflict that shaped the modern Middle East. The War was a trauma for Israel, a dangerous superpower showdown, and, following the oil embargo, a pivotal reordering of the global economic order. The Jewish State came shockingly close to defeat. After the war, Prime Minister Golda Meir resigned in disgrace, and a 9/11-style commission investigated the "debacle." But, argues Uri Kaufman, from the perspective of a half century, the War can be seen as a pivotal victory for Israel.
-
-
gripping history
- By Alex Troy on 11-12-23
By: Uri Kaufman
-
The Hundred-Year Marathon
- China's Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower
- By: Michael Pillsbury
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the US government's leading China experts reveals the hidden strategy fueling that country's rise - and how Americans have been seduced into helping China overtake us as the world's leading superpower.
-
-
Fascinating perspective.
- By Rocky Mackintosh on 01-05-17
-
Party of One
- The Rise of Xi Jinping and China's Superpower Future
- By: Chun Han Wong
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From one of the most admired reporters covering China today comes a vital new account of the life and political vision of Xi Jinping, the authoritarian leader of the People’s Republic whose hard-edged tactics have set the rising superpower on a collision with Western liberal democracies. Party of One shatters the many myths that shroud one of the world’s most secretive political organizations and its leader. Many observers misread Xi during his early years in power, projecting their own hopes that he would steer China toward more political openness, rule of law, and pro-market economics.
-
-
Impartial, we’ll researched and critical view that is hard to find
- By Anonymous User on 01-07-24
By: Chun Han Wong
-
Chip War
- The Quest to Dominate the World's Most Critical Technology
- By: Chris Miller
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You may be surprised to learn that microchips are the new oil—the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. Virtually everything—from missiles to microwaves—runs on chips, including cars, smartphones, the stock market, even the electric grid. Until recently, America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower, but America’s edge is in danger of slipping, undermined by players in Taiwan, Korea, and Europe taking over manufacturing.
-
-
Great history, but could poor narration
- By Lily Wong on 10-26-22
By: Chris Miller
-
Beijing Rules
- How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World
- By: Bethany Allen
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An acclaimed journalist on contemporary China lays bare the country's two-decade quest for global dominance and how the Chinese Communist Party coopted what Western leaders have long considered their most powerful tool in the fight for liberal democracy—capitalism—to expand its influence worldwide.
-
-
Chinese propaganda advocating for bigger govt
- By Kev on 01-31-25
By: Bethany Allen
-
World Order
- By: Henry Kissinger
- Narrated by: Nicholas Hormann
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Henry Kissinger offers in World Order a deep meditation on the roots of international harmony and global disorder. Drawing on his experience as one of the foremost statesmen of the modern era Kissinger now reveals his analysis of the ultimate challenge for the 21st century: How to build a shared international order in a world of divergent historical perspectives, violent conflict, proliferating technology, and ideological extremism.
-
-
More retrospective than future oriented
- By Scott on 10-23-14
By: Henry Kissinger
-
The New Rules of War
- Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder
- By: Sean McFate
- Narrated by: Joe Knezevich
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is the future of war? How can we survive? If Americans are drawn into major armed conflict, can we win? McFate calls upon the legends of military study Carl von Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, and others, as well as his own experience, and carefully constructs the new rules for the future of military engagement, the ways we can fight and win in an age of entropy: one where corporations, mercenaries, and rogue states have more power and ‘nation states’ have less.
-
-
Refutes Himself Repeatedly...And Never Notices
- By Brian on 01-06-21
By: Sean McFate
-
On Grand Strategy
- By: John Lewis Gaddis
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For over 20 years, a select group of Yale undergraduates has been admitted into the year-long "Grand Strategy" seminar team-taught by John Lewis Gaddis and Paul Kennedy. Its purpose: to provide a grounding in strategic decision-making in the face of crisis to prepare future American leaders for important work. Now, John Lewis Gaddis has transposed the experience of that course into a wonderfully succinct, lucid and inspirational book, a view from the commanding heights of statesmanship across the landscape of world history from the ancient Greeks to Lincoln, and beyond.
-
-
Interesting, but fails to offer real lessons.
- By Zack on 07-04-18
Critic reviews
What listeners say about Everything Under the Heavens
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Samuel S. Jackson
- 10-05-22
Great Primer
Howard French masterfully related historical reference with current relationships in and around China. I recommend this book to any seeking to understand why a new great power competition is upon us.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John
- 02-24-20
Unique Concept
First ignore the 50 cent review titled "Slanted views, lack of understand {sic} of China." Second the author takes a look a the historical significance of 天下. No surprises there, unless your name is daryl darwin and you didn't quite understand what you were getting yourself into even after you read the subtitle.
When I began the book, my initial thought was that Howard French was a bit of a western chauvinist. But if you don't allow your own short sightedness steer you adrift, you realize Mr. French is just using historical facts as a lens to explain present day Chinese foreign policy. Moreover, he does not single out the chauvinism of China alone, but also that of Japan, Vietnam, and the US. While doing this, I never felt that he was attempting to castigate foreign policy errors, rather he presents them to the reader so as to enlighten them to the geopolitical realities of East Asia.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Carl A. Gallozzi
- 08-04-17
China - a clear and present danger for the future.
Where does Everything Under the Heavens rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Very high in the ranking. Well researched and narrated - gives extensive Chinese and Chinese-Japanese History and provides the appropriate historical context.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Recent Chinese Leaders who made changes to made a great positive difference for their country.
Have you listened to any of Nicholas Hormann’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No basis for an evaluation
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No extreme reaction.
This is a very serious book.
This is a very serious subject.
People interested in U.S. Foreign Policy and its future would do well to read and understand this book and the challenges it represents.
Any additional comments?
Are the American people sleeping? Do they recognize their world position is being actively challenged? Do they care? Are they willing to stop the clown show(s) and do something about it? Are they willing to accept the consequences of inaction?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- David M
- 04-22-17
Thoughtful and thorough analysis
This thoughtful and thorough analysis casts current events in historic context, taking the long view so often missing from contemporary american sociopolitical discussion.
Neither alarmist nor apologist, the author presents a well reasoned and supported argument for caution and consistency in responding to a resurgent and confident China's regional and geopolitical strategic goals.
For me as an Australian this work provides additional and valuable context to current affairs in south east asia and, notwithstanding Goff's reassignment of nationality, is well worth listening to.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- harsh critic
- 12-11-18
Dense, Long, Necessary
A great voice reads a lengthy, comprehensive review of Chinese history to explain current geostrategic facts in and around China specifically, and concerning Chinese interests globally.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richard E Hartley
- 09-14-17
Eye Opening
The author has opened my eyes to ideas and concepts I had not considered. Very enlightening. The long historical view of Chinese self image helps me see why we must be careful in our diplomacy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- daryl
- 03-19-17
Some Notable Errors
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Way too much historical detail
Would you ever listen to anything by Howard W. French again?
Probably not.
How could the performance have been better?
Some notable errors. For example Gough Whitlam was the Prime Minister of Australia NOT New Zealand.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Bits were satisfying.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Frank Fei
- 04-26-19
Slanted views, lack of understand of China.
the book is slanted against China and doesn't seem to really understand the Chinese perspective
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful