Red China Blues by Jan Wong

As I have done in the past, I want to tell you about a book that I just finished reading. It's called "Red China Blues," written by Jan Wong and is jam-packed with information about recent history in China, from a foreign-journalist perspective. I found the most interesting part to be the first-hand description of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the events that led up to and followed that historical night. This book is quite different from some of the others that I've recommended because its so recent and because the author's experiences are truly unique. Also, if any of you read "Wild Swans" or some of the other books about the Cultural Revolution, this one makes for a nice "sequel" to those events. Here are what some other readers from Amazon.com had to say...

"Her descriptions of life in China during the latter part of the cultural revolution, the gradual reopening of the country following Mao's death, and the crackdown at Tiananmen are first rate, emotionally powerful, and give you a sense of what it would have felt like to "be there" during those momentous events in recent Chinese history."

"The most memorable part of the book for me was the gripping and horrifying blow-by-blow description of the Massacre at Tiananmen Square. The style is subtly different, more emotionally charged than any other section of the book; her normally light humor takes a darker turn and the words seem to rush into one another. From her vantage point on a hotel balcony facing the Square, she could see, hear, and feel everything. Not only does she make the reader feel that they are there, she also puts us into her mind, we feel her panic, her revulsion, and her sickness when the last of her illusions about China come crashing down about her."