Since its inception following World War II, the field of contemporary Chinese studies has been confronted by a series of extraordinary events. The first generation of specialists, schooled in a classical sinological tradition that stressed China's unique cultural continuity, was immediately challenged by what seemed-at least on the face of it-a major rupture with the past: the Communist Revolution of 1949. Not surprisingly, these specialists' efforts to explain this momentous aberration defined the initial contours of contemporary Chinese studies. Although scholarly opinion on the nature of the revolution was deeply divided, the debate centered on the extent to which the ideology and practice of Chinese communism could be said to reflect indigenous cultural influences, as opposed to a wholesale importation of the Soviet model.
這是一本從多角度透視“八九－六四”事件的文集。在紐約紀念“六四”十五周年研討會的基礎上，由二十一世紀中國基金會資助和主持出版。 本文集收錄的24篇文章，體現了海內外（主要為華人）學者在過去的十五年間對“八九－六四”事件的思考與研究成果；在選稿上緊扣“八九－六四”事件研究中的重大問題，力求體現這項研究的客觀、理性與多元特點。
該書收錄了天安門運動的參與者、見證者和學者們的26篇評論與回顧文章。全書分為三部分，第一部分是美國與中國的著名學者專家的宏觀評論，第二部分是八九民運的親歷者和記者從不同的角度對這場運動的描述與回顧，第三部分是爭鳴，是圍繞著八九民運的若干對立觀點的爭論。由北京的政治學者陳小雅女士主編，海外著名史學家余英時教授為這本書寫序推薦。
