Wild Swans

Overall Verdict: ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Why this book?
Like so many of the books that I read, I didn’t pick this one up with teaching geography in mind. I have had it on the shelf for a while and had never tackled it because, quite frankly, it looked too long. However, with lock-down upon us there seemed no better time and so I picked it up and subsequently could not put it down! At just short of 700 pages it is not a quick read but it is profoundly interesting, insightful and eye-opening and I would recommend it to all.  

For teachers:
I’m willing to wager that China is a country that you reference near daily in your teaching of geography (certainly, if you teach GCSE and A-Level). Whilst it is more than possible to teach about China well without having read this, I suspect that for many, reading this book would add a whole new layer of knowledge and nuance to your teaching of the rising superpower. I was perhaps guilty of assuming that up-to-date current affairs knowledge was sufficient to ‘know’ about a country like China- so rapidly changing in the 21st century. Yet reading Wild Swans has made me reflect on how important understanding the history of a country is in order to discuss its future.

The book tells the story of three generations of women in the same family- from 1909 onwards. As a result, it tells the history of China throughout the 20th century and the reality of the Mao era for one family. Reflecting on just one component of the specification, my teaching of the 1978 Open-Door Policy and the rise of China has lacked recognition of its significance- I have failed to portray just how significant a change this was for the country and economic system and ultimately, the quality of life of its population. No longer…