Much is known about how China transformed itself from a poverty-stricken country into an economic superpower. But there is almost no information about the main creator of this transformation - the Communist Party. Its leadership is obsessed with secrecy, unaccountable to anyone but itself, and fiercely guards its cadres from outside attack. Richard McGregor, the former Beijing bureau chief of London's Financial Times, who has 20 years of reporting in China, knows more about the party than anyone outside the party structure. His book is a sensational, richly detailed account of how the machine that runs the world's most populous country works. And about how and why the communists managed to stay in power, releasing the genie of economic freedom. Could Russia follow the Chinese path and, if so, what would our country become? If you are interested in the answer to this question, Richard McGregor's book is for you. For a wide range of readers.