Niall Ferguson: Civilization: The West and the Rest. 2011 (The Penguin Press)

Explains why the West could rise to global dominance (and why it may be outsmarted soon by the East). One book you MUST read if you want to understand our world.

Henry Kissinger: On China. 2011 (Penguin Press HC, 1 Edition)

Sweeping, insightful, based on personal experience - but 'old-school' perspective. Focuses on the 'mandarins of power', but ignores underlying factors of change, such as the Internet or demography.

Ezra F. Vogel: Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. 2011 (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press)

Best analysis of Deng's fundamental impact on China's reforms.

Joseph S. Nye Jr.: The Future of Power. 2011 (PublicAffairs; 1 Edition)

Nye argues that the US will continue to dominate thanks to a combination of hard and soft power.

Thomas L. Friedman / Michael Mandelbaum: That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back. 2011 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Eye-opening, well-written analysis of Amarica's decline and China's ascent - based on anecdotal evidence rather than on hard facts. Still worth reading!

Carl E. Walter / Fraser J. T. Howie: Red Capitalism: The Fragile Financial Foundation of China's Extraordinary Rise. 2011 (Wiley)

Sobering view on China's financial system. Essential reading for everyone who wants to invest in China.

Fareed Zakaria: The Post-American World. 2nd Edition. 2011 (W. W. Norton & Company)

Smart!

Deborah Brautigam: The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa. 2011 (Oxford University Press)

Well-researched and mainly unbiased account of Chinese involvement in Africa. Essential book for understanding China's grand strategy.

Aaron L. Friedberg: A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia. 2011 (W. W. Norton & Company)

One of the less hysterical accounts of U.S.-China strategic relations. A serious book.

Evgeny Morozov: The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. 2011 (PublicAffairs)

Not specifically on China - but sobering reading for cyber-intellectuals.