Compiles internal government and Communist Party documents to chronicle the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in China, revealing the decisions that led to the use of military force against the student demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.

Reflections on June fourth /Zhang Liang -- The documents and their significance / Andrew J. Nathan -- 1986-Spring 1989 : seeds of crisis -- April 8-23 : the student movement begins -- April 24-30 : the April 26th editorial -- May 1-6 : signs of compromise -- May 6-16 : hunger strike -- May 16-19 : the fall of Zhao Ziyang -- May 19-22 : martial law -- May 23-25 : the conflict intensifies -- May 26-28 : the elders choose Jiang Zemin -- May 29-June 3 : preparing to clear the square -- June 1989 and after : renewed struggle over China's future -- Reflections on authentication / Orville Schell -- Abbreviations -- Who was who : one hundred brief biographies.