Good afternoon.
I read a fantastic book the other day called 'Factory Girls', and it made me realise that I have no idea how the Chinese civil war in the 20th century actually went down. I know that it wasn't communist, then it was, then some awful things happened, but that's it.
I want to fill this glaring hole in my knowledge. What would be good to read / watch / hear / etc?
"The Search of Modern China" by Johnathan Spence is a good place to start. His writing style is very engaging, and his book on the Taiping Rebellion is extremely fascinating also. If you are looking for a more popular and condensed version I would go with Johnathan Fenby's Modern China: The Rise and Fall of a Great Empire, but Fenby is a journalist and is less scholarly than Spence, but still very engaging as well.
If you are down to watch a great documentary I suggest PBS's China:A Century of Revolution. It uses great historic footage and builds the narrative of major events. Hope that helps!
I see Spence has already been recommended (a fantastic place to start, engaging and expansive). I'd also highly recommend Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom by Stephen Platt. I had the pleasure of being his student and he is a great teacher and an even better writer.