Page de couverture de Ghost Nation

Ghost Nation

The Story of Taiwan and Its Struggle for Survival

 Aperçu
Essayer pour 0,00 $
Choisissez 1 livre audio par mois dans notre incomparable catalogue.
Accès illimité à notre catalogue d'écoute à volonté de plus de 15 000 livres audio et balados
L'abonnement Premium Plus se renouvelle automatiquement au tarif de 14,95 $/mois + taxes applicables après 30 jours. Annulation possible à tout moment.

Ghost Nation

Auteur(s): Chris Horton
Narrateur(s): Christopher Ragland
Essayer pour 0,00 $

14,95$ par mois après 30 jours. Annulable en tout temps.

Acheter pour 22,13 $

Acheter pour 22,13 $

À propos de cet audio

'Indispensable and timely' - Melissa Chan, Emmy-nominated international affairs correspondent

'Few books qualify as essential reading but Ghost Nation is one of them' - Clive Hamilton, bestselling co-author of The Hidden Hand

The gripping story of Taiwan's past and precarious present from one of Taiwan's top foreign correspondents.

With all eyes on Ukraine and the Middle East, Taiwan is emerging as the next geopolitical tinderbox. Despite sitting at the heart of the tense relationship between China and the US, Taiwan’s history and its people have long been overlooked and misunderstood. In Ghost Nation, Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton tells their stories and explores why this diplomatically isolated country has become such an important player on the world stage.

As China’s military preparations continue apace, the stakes have never been higher. Perched precariously on the fault-lines of global power, the fate of this vibrant democracy and tech colossus will shape Asia’s future – either containing or facilitating China’s expansionist goals.

Drawing from over a decade of living and reporting in Taiwan, and informed by interviews with everyday citizens, presidents and other key figures, Horton provides a panoramic view of this fascinating country. Ghost Nation will leave listeners with a profound appreciation for Taiwan’s struggle for self-determination – and its pivotal role in our shared future.

'An unmissable account . . . Accessible, entertaining and immaculately researched' - Dr Jonathan Sullivan, co-author of Taiwan: A Contested Democracy Under Threat and former Director of the China Policy Institute

 Affaires mondiales Asie Guerres et conflits Militaire Politique Chine Japon impérial Hanté

Ce que les critiques en disent

[A] compelling and important book on [Taiwan]'s recent history and politics . . . crisp and deeply researched (Rana Mitter, The Observer)
If you think it's an exaggeration to say that Taiwan is the fulcrum on which the world's balance of power rests, then Chris Horton's book should change your mind. Apart from crushing a vibrant democracy, a Chinese takeover of Taiwan would be a victory for authoritarianism everywhere. Few books qualify as essential reading but Ghost Nation is one of them (Clive Hamilton, author of The Hidden Hand)
Indispensable and timely — this is an urgent moment for everyone to better understand Taiwan, one of the most interesting democracies in the world — written engagingly by the international journalist who knows the country best (Melissa Chan, Emmy-nominated International Affairs Correspondent and author of You Must Take Part in Revolution)
Through fascinating details and keen insights, Chris Horton’s exemplary storytelling brings to life Taiwan’s complex political and social circumstances. Ghost Nation is an absolutely compelling read (Shawna Yang Ryan, award-winning author of Green Island)
For the past decade, Horton has been one of the most reliable and incisive foreign journalists based in Taipei. He has used that experience, knowledge and access to produce an unmissable account of Taiwan's political trajectory . . . Accessible, entertaining and immaculately researched (Dr Jonathan Sullivan, co-author of Taiwan: A Contested Democracy Under Threat and former Director of the China Policy Institute)
Horton’s retelling of Taiwan’s past and present through the eyes of everyday people who experienced Taiwan’s highs and lows firsthand will leave readers with a deep sense of empathy and hope. It is a must read for anyone invested in peace and understanding on either side of the Taiwan Strait (Lev Nachman, Assistant Professor at National Taiwan University and author of Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements and Party Formation)
Accessible and borne from on-the-ground reporting. Delves far beyond the headlines, deep into the history and the forgotten personalities that helped make modern Taiwan (Dr Samir Puri, author of Westlessness: The Great Global Rebalancing)
Taiwan is too often reduced to a geopolitical talking point . . . In Ghost Nation, journalist Chris Horton offers a vivid, clear-eyed account of a place that has defied the odds. Far from a passive player, Taiwan emerges here as a vibrant democracy shaped by its own history, people and political will. Drawing on over a decade of reporting, Horton reveals the deeper stakes of Taiwan’s survival—and why its future matters to us all (Clarissa Wei, author of Made in Taiwan)
Tout
Les plus pertinents
It is difficult to listen due to narrator. Narrator simply mispronounced (or more accurately, butchered) every Taiwanese name, landmark and event. It made such a cognitive dissonance that I just wished narrator would have prepared better to pronounce local names. That aside, story was fairly interesting even though a bit biased towards modern propaganda.

Narrator mispronounced every Taiwanese landmark and name

Un problème est survenu. Veuillez réessayer dans quelques minutes.
Although it starts off slowly with some fuzzy stories that don’t really come together about Tawian’s indigenous minority peoples, Ghost Nation provides a good overview of the political history and the contemporary political situation of Taiwan - a society shaped by occupations by the Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, and then the KMT.

Horton’s explanation of the 228 incident in 1947 and the violent suppression of the Taiwanese people by the KMT early in their occupation of Taiwan, followed by the almost 50-year long “White Terror” period of martial law ending in the late 1980s, helped me understand why democracy is so important to the people of Taiwan.

I also got a much better understanding of Chiang’s role in isolating Taiwan (including refusing a seat in the United Nations) due to his stubborn insistence on recognition for the KMT’s claims over China, long after it was obvious that the People’s Republic of China had become the legitimate government, and that the KMT would never be able to reclaim their control over the mainland. The KMT justifiably comes across as villains in the story, and I am still trying to wrap my head around the KMT morphing from enemies of the Chinese CCP into a pro-integration party aligned with the Chinese government under Xi Jinping

The book ends with predictable, but well-written analysis of the PRC’s increasing threats against Taiwan’s sovereignty, the US schizophrenic policy of “strategic ambiguity”, and the importance of TSMC’s “digital shield” (and how this is being undermined by other countries, especially the US, insistence on near-shoring TSMC’s semiconductor fabs) in protecting Taiwan.

Some of the political analysis (especially of contemporary issues) gets too much into the weeds, and the profiles of modern Taiwanese politicians and journalists do not add to the goal of understanding Taiwan’s situation and will only be interesting to political junkies. The audiobook’s sing-song narration (and some egregious mistakes in pronounciation) will get on your nerves.

A thorough, up-to-date and sympathetic political history of Taiwan.

Un problème est survenu. Veuillez réessayer dans quelques minutes.