pickFollowing 4 young people and their families, this book looks at life in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation in WWII then on to the communist takeover of China and thereafter. It‘s a terrific, personalized way to explore history and excellent narrative nonfiction. I can‘t recommend it enough.
pickA vivid portrayal of China from 1976-81:
"...Informative, disturbing, poignant and absorbing...personal encounters with individual Chinese that (were) almost unprecedented for any American journalist (at this time this book was written)." - NYT Book Review
Fascinating. I learned that I know less than I ever could have imagined.
pickVery in depth but the author is biased and glossed over Chinese communism‘s horrible human rights abuses.
pickStories of people and families leaving China as the political climate changes and the economy plummeted.
March wrap-up! 20 books is a high for me; given I was home for half of it. 😝 ☘️ Still have a lot to do to catch up my NetGalley stack!
pickHelen Zia brings a human and personal aspect to the struggle and resilience of the thousands of people fleeing Shanghai during the communist revolution.
https://onthebl.org/2019/05/05/last-boat-out-of-shanghai/
Really interesting interview with Helen Zia on NPR Morning Edition this morning about the tagged book. I hadn‘t heard of this book, but I‘ll find it now.
Here‘s the link if interested: https://www.npr.org/2019/02/19/695874055/last-boat-out-of-shanghai-the-chinese-w...
pickFascinating stuff, and though it's a bit light and travel memoiry at times, I think I'll pick up more of Man's books -- the level of knowledge assumed is perfect for me.
I'm finding this a fun, easy read, but surprisingly diverse in topic -- it's not just the Army, but politics ancient and modern that have surrounded them and shaped how we interpret them.
