The Chinese War Machine

Considering the amount of change, and the rapid improvement, of the armed forces of the People's Republic of China even in the last ten years, this Salamander book from 1979 is incredibly out of date. 

However, the last actual war the People's Liberation Army took place in was around the time this book was published (against Vietnam, and China didn't do very well!)

This is an enjoyable period piece. China was building a lot of weapons back then too though they were largely copies of already ageing and often obsolete Soviet types instead of the weapons they build today which are as good as (and who knows maybe in some ways superior) to the West's.

Not much detailed in this book therefore will be relevant to today. However, if you have a nostalgia for Soviet era weapons and Cold War armies then this look across the Bamboo Curtain is very enjoyable.