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Looking for book recs on China
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Do not promote books in this forum. Instead, promote your books in either Authors: Tell us about your FICTION book! or Authors: Tell us about your NON-FICTION book!.
All other Community Rules apply in this and all other forums.
- Sue Salisbury
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Getting Comfortable
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Re: Looking for book recs on China
I read "Life and Death in Shanghai" many years ago and have always remembered this book. It is an autobiography written by Nien Cheng, whose husband had been an official of Chiang Kaishek's regime. She was arrested, and while it is a very personal and inspirational account of her struggles, her assessments of events and political situation of China's cultural revolution of 1966 are insightful.
Sue Salisbury
Maui Hawaii
Sue Salisbury
Maui Hawaii
Last edited by Sue Salisbury on Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sue Salisbury
Maui Hawaii
Maui Hawaii
Re: Looking for book recs on China
I was going to recommend Romance of the Three Kingdoms until I saw that you wanted something modern. But if you believe that the present is a product of the past, this classic would be worth reading. It's such an important part of Chinese culture in that it has influenced so much later art including modern Chinese story telling in many genres. My review here if you're interested
Otherwise, there's always Wild Swans Review
Otherwise, there's always Wild Swans Review
Re: Looking for book recs on China
I'm half-way through Mao's Great Famine by Frank Dikkoter, which documents China's devastating attempt to become an economic powerhouse within fifteen years, starting in 1958 with a nation-wide roll out of collectivisation. In four years, fifty million people died as a result of this catastrophically misguided policy, and Dikkoter does justice to this neglected chapter of history with a deft mix of humane depictions of hardship anchored with a lucid delineation of the ideological and economic context.
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Getting Comfortable
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Re: Looking for book recs on China
I highly recommend "Oracle Bones" by Peter Hessler. This is a fascinating, book that is highly readable and very informative. Hessler tells the story of modern China through the lives of some average Chinese citizens. Along the way, he also tells the story of China's past, and manages to make seamless connections between the two. This is an amazing book.