Relying on archival sources and fieldwork, Grove provides a detailed discussion of twentieth-century development of industry in the Gaoyang industrial district in the context of the changing political economy of China. . . . Grove's study shows that the more localized instances of the Mao-era socialist state, as well as economic practices that predate the 1949 revolution, both remain important elements in the contemporary economic landscape. Recommended.

Choice Reviews

Grove's work makes an important contribution by bringing history back into a current debate on China's rural industrialization that has been focused on the reform era. . . . Grove forcefully reminds us of not only the historical significance of China's early experience with rural industrialization but the meaningful links between the early experience and present-day development of rural enterprises. . . . This book is well-written, persuasively argued, and carefully grounded on research efforts. It should be read by people who are interested in modern China's rural industrialization, business practices, and economic history.

China Quarterly

This book is a valuable source for scholars who study the history of smalltown and rural industry development in China. It is able to cover a long time span by drawing on multiple sources of information.

The China Journal

From years of research in documents and on site, Linda Grove has produced the most persuasive account of rural industrialization in twentieth-century China that we have. Analyzing economic practices at the level of the firm as well as within the district, she shows how very connected the dynamics of industrial growth have been in widely separated decades. Anyone reading this book will no longer be able to assume that industrialization is largely a reform-era, urban phenomenon that is simply making the Chinese economy look like those of advanced industrial societies.

R. Bin Wong, University of California, Los Angeles