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I'd second Wild Swans and River Town, but also ORACLE BONES (also by Peter Hessler) and CHINA ROAD, about British correspondent Rob Gifford and his travel on one road that spans the country, starting in Shanghai and ending at the China/Turkestan border. Really fantastic look at how vastly different China is, from the city to the further west you go.

Amy Tan's THE JOY LUCK CLUB is a good look at what women had to deal with through China's last century, and RED SCARF GIRL by Ji-li Jiang is a Excellent account (and written at 6-9th grade reading level, so easy to get through) of the horrors of the Cultural Revolution (In fact, the author grew up only a couple blocks away from my father and he can attest that everything she wrote is true.)

Also, to clarify, Chinese Lonely Planet is only banned because of the maps in the front. Tear out the maps (I think it's because they include Tibet) and you're good to go. OR, just replace its book cover and they'll have no clue- this is one time where they do actually only judge a book by its cover!

Oooo some good recommendations there, will have to try and pick some of them up. I have Chinese for Dummies kicking about somewhere but I can't bring myself to look at it at the moment :)
Found it amusing that according to WikiTravel (<font color="#4698cb">http://wikitravel.org/en/China#Banned_items</font> ) the Chinese Lonely Planet is a banned book :/

ooh, Empress Orchid is a good book! Also loved Amy Tan - The Bonesetter's daughter. My reading list includes Wild Swans (Jung Chang) and my friend recommended River Town: Two years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler which is about his experiences living in China as a foreign teacher.

Awesome, thanks guys :)

You should definately read China Seas by John Harris, its a big read (1000+ pages) but it is very gripping. It is fiction but is based around non-fiction starting in the late 1800's and ending in 1950's it follows this one man from being a child through his teens and into adulthood getting married and meeting pirates and having love affairs etc, here is the link to amazon; http://www.amazon.com/China-Seas-John-Harris/dp/0755102401 it's the US site but I'm sure you can find the UK one somewhere. I really enjoyed reading this about 3 years ago!

Naisbitt, J. and Naisbitt, D. (2010). China's Megatrends: The 8 Pillars of a New Society. ISBN 13: 9780061859441 ISBN 10: 0061859443.

Description:

Offers a perspective on the transformation that is reshaping China's economic, social, and political systems. This title includes information across China's provinces and cities. It argues that, while the US struggles to restore its position in the world, China is creating an entirely fresh social and economic model for a 21st-century.

My wife got this book (Chinese version) last year, but was released in English this year. She says it's an interesting read.

Oh, love this post! Means you'll def have something good to read on the plane.

If you're after suggestions, I'd add The River at the Centre of the World to your list - it sounds a bit boring (it's about one bloke's trip up the Yangzee) at first, but is totally not - it gives loads of incredible insights into Chinese culture and history so is definitely worth getting your hands on!

Good luck with the Chinese for dummies - hopefully you'll get more use out of it than your brother :)