Anyone but an American must immediately suspect the writings of an American sitting in Hong Kong, interviewing refugees and poring over official Chinese documents, with the apparent purpose of finding admissions of governmental failures. In the case of Barnett these misgivings are rather unfair. Although he is only on the outside rim of China and his sources of information are restricted, his experience of the country and his instinct for the essential enable him to overcome many of the limitations of his position. Indeed he creates a much more convincing picture of China than many people who were there at the time have done. Of course the situation of the expert in Hong Kong is not entirely disadvantageous. In some ways distance from the scene of action improves perspective; a writer’s eyes are often his least reliable source of information.