Americans in China: Encounters with the People's Republic

Terry Lautz

Mar 2022 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Paul Heitsch

About this audiobook

In Americans in China, Terry Lautz provides a series of biographical portraits of Americans who have lived and worked in China from before the Communist era to the present. The pathbreaking experiences of these men and women provide unique insights and deeply human perspectives on issues that have shaped US engagement with the People's Republic: politics, diplomacy, education, business, art, law, journalism, and human rights. For each of these Americans, China was more than just another place: it was an idea, a cause, a revolution, a civilization. Some of them grew up in China while others were motivated by curiosity and adventure. Some believed Red China was an existential threat while others looked to the People's Republic as a socialist utopia. Still others-including a number of Chinese Americans-worked to improve US-China relations for personal or professional reasons. Looming over their narratives is the quandry of whether divergent Chinese and Western worldviews could find common ground. Would China move in the direction of Western-style liberal democracy? Or was the Communist Party destined to follow an authoritarian path? The figures in this book had distinctive answers to such questions. Their stories hold up a mirror to our two societies, helping to explain how we have arrived at the present moment.

About the author

Terry Lautz writes and teaches on the history of United States-China relations. He is former vice president of the Henry Luce Foundation, and has chaired the Harvard-Yenching Institute, the Lingnan Foundation, and the Yale-China Association. He is the author of John Birch: A Life and lives in Reston, Virginia.

Paul Heitsch has been narrating audiobooks since 2011, after having worked as a pianist, composer, recording engineer, producer, and sound designer for many years. His work is often cited for the authenticity he brings to the narrative and characters he portrays, as well as his versatility, and clear, smooth delivery.