About this ebook
The national bestselling memoir of a woman’s resistance and struggles in Communist China—“an absorbing story of resourcefulness and courage” (The New York Times).
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
In August 1966, a group of Red Guards ransacked the home of Nien Cheng. Her background made her an obvious target for the fanatics of the Cultural Revolution: educated in London, the widow of an official of Chiang Kai-shek’s regime, and an employee of Shell Oil. When she refused to confess that any of this made her an enemy of the state, she was placed in solitary confinement, where she would remain for more than six years.
Life and Death in Shanghai recounts the story of Nien Cheng’s imprisonment—a time of extreme deprivation which she met with heroic resistance—as well as her quest for justice when she was released. It is also the story of a country torn apart by Mao Zedong’s vicious campaign to topple party moderates. An incisive, personal account of a terrifying chapter in twentieth-century history, Life and Death in Shanghai is also an astounding portrait of one woman’s courage.
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
In August 1966, a group of Red Guards ransacked the home of Nien Cheng. Her background made her an obvious target for the fanatics of the Cultural Revolution: educated in London, the widow of an official of Chiang Kai-shek’s regime, and an employee of Shell Oil. When she refused to confess that any of this made her an enemy of the state, she was placed in solitary confinement, where she would remain for more than six years.
Life and Death in Shanghai recounts the story of Nien Cheng’s imprisonment—a time of extreme deprivation which she met with heroic resistance—as well as her quest for justice when she was released. It is also the story of a country torn apart by Mao Zedong’s vicious campaign to topple party moderates. An incisive, personal account of a terrifying chapter in twentieth-century history, Life and Death in Shanghai is also an astounding portrait of one woman’s courage.
Ratings and reviews
5.0
4 reviews
Spark Swain
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October 21, 2018
A great book by a strong woman. One of the best on living through the Mao era.
Luke Lu
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August 27, 2016
I want to know my country deeply.
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
Nien Cheng (1915–2009) was the author of the critically-acclaimed, international best-selling memoir Life and Death in Shanghai. Released from prison in 1973, Cheng emigrated in 1980, first to Canada and then to the United States, where she became a U.S. citizen in 1988. Cheng died at her home in Washington, D.C. in 2009 at the age of 94.
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