false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173755258m/324011.jpg 324011 1 <div><div><b>A first-hand account of the remarkable transformation of China over the past forty years as seen through the life of an award-winning journalist and his four Chinese classmates</b></div><b></b><div><br>As a twenty-year-old exchange student from Stanford University, John Pomfret spent a year at Nanjing University in China. His fellow classmates were among those who survived the twin tragedies of Mao&#8217;s rule&#8212;the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution&#8212;and whose success in government and private industry today are shaping China&#8217;s future. Pomfret went on to a career in journalism, spending the bulk of his time in China. After attending the twentieth reunion of his class, he decided to reacquaint himself with some of his classmates. <i>Chinese Lessons</i> is their story and his own.</div><div><br>Beginning with Pomfret&#8217;s first days in China, <i>Chinese Lessons</i> takes us back to the often torturous paths that brought together the Nanjing University History Class of 1982. One classmate&#8217;s father was killed during the Cultural Revolution for the crime of being an intellectual; another classmate labored in the fields for years rather than agree to a Party-arranged marriage; a third was forced to publicly denounce and humiliate her father. As we watch Pomfret and his classmates begin to make their lives as adults, we see as never before the human cost and triumph of China&#8217;s transition from near-feudal communism to first-world capitalism. </div></div> 314713 8 8 2006 Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China total:143|5:46|4:57|3:35|2:5|1:0| 143 573 220 49 4 1 false false Mon Mar 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 09:42:31 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 09:56:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Mar 02 21:11:38 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 21:13:31 -0800 2009
It is not 1984 but 1981, and John Pomfret, who was then a fourth-year A...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 08 11:47:37 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 11:59:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 true false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 19 19:54:30 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 19:59:22 -0700 2009 Three more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Nov 01 18:47:26 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 01 18:51:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Feb 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 29 16:18:06 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 16:39:17 -0800 2009
Publisher's description: A first-hand account of the remarkable transformation of China over the past forty years as seen through the life of an award-winning journalist and his four Chinese classmates.

My review: This is qui...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Oct 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 19:00:24 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 19:07:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Mar 31 19:18:38 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 14 13:47:46 -0700 2008 Oracle Bones, which I had just read and was thus directly comparing it to for merit. However, that discla...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 22 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 11 11:12:59 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 23 21:50:49 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 17 18:48:22 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 18:48:22 -0700 2009
Some of my friends didn't like the fact that he includes his own storyline, but I thought this was ok and interesting. His love stories perhap...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 26 14:02:34 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 18:49:13 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Nov 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 09:04:42 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 09:07:21 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Tue Jan 27 20:16:02 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 20:18:36 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sat Aug 15 19:05:35 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 19:08:50 -0700 2009 5 0 true false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 07 03:59:21 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 07 04:02:53 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 15 18:55:27 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 15 18:58:22 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 28 19:56:34 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 01 17:15:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 16 19:27:07 -0800 2007 Thu Jan 10 13:52:40 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 27 21:35:32 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 21:37:01 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 26 08:18:22 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 30 10:18:53 -0800 2007 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=324011