China is confusing to many Americans.  We hear about human rights abuses and the lingering influences of Mao’s communism in the government.  But at the same time China appears to be evolving into a nation not so different from our own.  Starbucks sprinkle China’s larger cities and more and more Chinese people are enjoying cars and clogged highways.

Jeffrey Wasserstrom is a professor of History at the University of California - Irvine.  And he’s the author of “China’s Brave New World – And Other Tales for Global Times.”

At the beginning of his book, Jeffrey talks about the conflicting images of China that Americans have.  Jerome asked him how he understands China given these different images.