Kate Merkel-Hess is assistant professor of history and Asian studies at Penn State. Kenneth L. Pomeranz is University Professor of Modern Chinese History and the College at the University of Chicago. Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom is editor of the Journal of Asian Studies and professor of history at the University of California, Irvine. To view Kate Merkel-Hess discussing the book at the Virginia Festival of the Book, visit http://charlottesville.granicus.com

The Beijing Olympics ensured that the world would be watching China in 2008, a year that turned out to be the most tumultuous and traumatic for the country since the massive Tiananmen uprising of 1989. Crippling winter storms, riots in Tibet, the devastating Sichuan earthquake, and many other dramatic events grabbed international headlines. This innovative book-based on postings from the noted group blog/electronic magazine China Beat as well as works from other leading publications and completely new material-takes the unique approach of bringing the timeliness of the blogosphere into book form, expanding and reflecting on stories in the news while retaining the eclectic, opinionated, and engaging feel of the blog. It will be invaluable reading for everyone with a keen interest in China today.

Chapter 1: Anxieties of a Prosperous Age
Chapter 2: Tibet
Chapter 3: Meanwhile, Across the Straits . . .
Chapter 4: Nationalism and the Torch
Chapter 5: Earthquake and Recovery
Chapter 6: Shanghai Images in Beijing's Year
Chapter 7: Tiananmen Reconsidered
Chapter 8: The Road to the Olympics
Chapter 9: The Olympics as Spectacle
Chapter 10: China after the Games
Chapter 11: Follow the Leader
Chapter 12: Things Seen and Unseen
Chapter 13: Pop Culture in a Global Age
Chapter 14: Reinvented Traditions
Chapter 15: China and the United States