Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was amazing. I didn't give it five stars because it lagged in some places. But her narration of the horrendous things that happened during China's cultural revolution make me ashamed that we weren't studying this in school when it was going on and shortly after. Why do we ignore Asia in our Social Studies classes? Her memory is incredible, and her accounts of real-life communism experiences make it easy to see why this system of government never works in practice. Her courage was extremely inspiring and I think one of the best defenses against too-powerful governments is a highly educated populace.
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Friday, March 13, 2009
Posted by Naomi at 9:31 AM
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5 comments:
Why didn't I learn AYTHING in my social studies class. I remember thinking the same thing when I read "Infidel" and "The Looming Tower" and "The Kite Runner" I had no idea! This book sounds very interesting. Can't wait...but don't worry, Middlemarch first. Hey did I tell you I started in? I'm like 100 or so pages into it. Can't wait to get to page 250 where someone told me it really starts to pick up.
Gwen
Especially when you think of how much of the world's population is in Asia. We are a bit ethnocentric.
Thanks for these reviews. I write all the good ones down on my list. I also wanted to report that the boxelder bugs have diminished pretty quickly like you said (thank goodness). Both Glen and I had a good chuckle about what Isaac said about poor people eating bugs. What a cool kid to be thinking about solutions for others.
I loved this book too, although must admit to skipping some of the s-l-o-w-e-r parts. I also recently heard your good news and wanted to say congrats! We miss you!
Hey...I love that you do book reviews. I'm putting this one on my list. I have 3 books on my bookshelf right now that I want to read, but this one will for sure be next. I really need to be educated about China's history & political situation.
It was also fun to see pics of your family! I miss our little playgroups/joyschool. Have you made some fun friends? I'm sure you have a million!
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