With unique access to Chinese leaders at all levels of the party and government, best-selling author David M. Lampton tells the story of China's political elites from their own perspectives. Based on over five hundred interviews, Following the Leader offers a rare glimpse into how the attitudes and ideas of those at the top have evolved over the past four decades. Here China's rulers explain their strategies and ideas for moving the nation forward, share their reflections on matters of leadership and policy, and discuss the challenges that keep them awake at night.

David M. Lampton is Hyman Professor and Director of SAIS-China and China Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, having also served as Dean of Faculty from 2004-2012. Formerly President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, he is the author of many books including, The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money, and Minds (University of California Press, 2008), with prior publications appearing in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The American Political Science Review, The China Quarterly, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other venues popular and academic in both the western world and in Chinese speaking societies. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University. Full Bio

Previously on Cover to Cover:

March 2014 featured Harvard Professor David Keith on his book A Case for Climate Engineering. Click here to listen to a recording.

Also, be sure to read the comment from Nels Granholm, Chairman, South Dakota World Affairs Council, and Professor Emeritus of Global Studies and Biology, South Dakota State University: Granholm memo here

 

 

February 2014 featured Marwan Muasher, former Foreign Minister of Jordan, and Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, on his new book The Second Arab Awakening: And the Battle for Pluralism. Click Here to listen to a recording.

January 2014 featured Peter W. Singer, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, Brookings Institution, and author of Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know on Wednesday, January 8. Click here to listen to a recording.