The names of China's great dynasties are familiar to many, yet in the West, few of us can actually situate a T'ang horse or a Ming vase in its social or cultural context. By focusing on the key figures of the eight major dynasties, the author of A Brief History of the Great Moguls brings to life 3500 years of Chinese civilization. Bamber Gascoigne's overview of the world's longest-lasting empire—which features 16 pages of color photographs—encompasses its prehistory, its greatest linguistic and philosophical achievements, the wars with the Mongols, and the 1912 Revolution, which paved the way for Communism and ensured the overthrow of the last emperor.