本书回顾了新中国成立至1976年政治经济发展的历史，重点探讨了中国现代化发展的宏观背景、初始起点、发展条件和各类动因；从政治与经济两条主线闸述了建国初期到向社会主义转变、“大跃进”到经济重建以及“文化大革命”时期的历史过干旱和历史联系，并对这段时期作了客观和历史的分析。 本书充分肯定了毛泽东和他所领导的中国共产党人开创和探索的中国特色礼会主义现代化建设道路（即“中国之路”）的历史功绩，也总结了其经验和教训。 作为近年来国情研究的主要成果之一，作者以翔实的资料和深入的研究引导广大读者历史地理解和重温“中国之路”的发腱轨迹、发展逻辑和发展特点。 本书系作者为清华大学研究生和公共管理（MPA）研究生讲授《社会主义理论与实践》（必修课）的参考教材，既是作者研究中国国情的重要成果，也是教书授课实践的心得体会。

In 1878, two young stage magicians clash in the dark during the course of a fraudulent séance. From this moment on, their lives become webs of deceit and revelation as they vie to outwit and expose one another. Their rivalry will take them to the peaks of their careers, but with terrible consequences. In the course of pursuing each other's ruin, they will deploy all the deception their magicians' craft can command--the highest misdirection and the darkest science. Blood will be spilled, but it will not be enough. In the end, their legacy will pass on for generations...to descendants who must, for their sanity's sake, untangle the puzzle left to them.