Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution - Paperback
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The Epic Story of Shanghai's 1949 Exodus
Last Boat Out of Shanghai captures the dramatic real-life stories of four young people caught in the mass exodus of Shanghai following China's 1949 Communist revolution. Award-winning journalist Helen Zia weaves together deeply personal accounts that reveal the universal struggles faced by refugees across generations.
Four Lives, One Historic Moment
Through hundreds of interviews with the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus, Zia brings to life the experiences of Benny, Annuo, Ho, and Bing—four Shanghai residents forced to make impossible choices. Benny inherits his father's dark wartime legacy and must decide between escape to Hong Kong or life under Communist rule. Annuo flees with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, to an unwelcoming Taiwan. Ho fights deportation from the U.S. while his family struggles at home. Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces an uncertain future among strangers in America.
Award-Winning Historical Non-Fiction
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR and The Christian Science Monitor, this finalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography has earned praise from literary luminaries. Lisa See calls it "a true page-turner," while Amy Tan notes that "Zia's portraits are compassionate and heartbreaking, and they are, ultimately, the universal story of many families who leave their homeland as refugees."
Helen Zia is the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, a Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize finalist. A former executive editor of Ms. magazine and Fulbright Scholar, Zia first visited China in 1972 following President Nixon's historic trip. As the daughter of Chinese immigrants, she brings unique insight to understanding how crises affect families, students, and the refugee experience across generations.
Why This Book Matters Today
Shanghai was China's jewel—its richest, most modern, and westernized city—home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class. When Mao's proletarian revolution emerged victorious, terrified citizens who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later, these moving accounts reveal the dignity and triumph of personal survival, offering a poignant perspective on the refugee experience that resonates powerfully with current global migration crises.
This paperback edition from Ballantine Books brings together meticulous historical research with compelling narrative storytelling, making it essential reading for anyone interested in Chinese history, Asian American studies, or the human stories behind political upheaval.
The dramatic real life stories of four young people caught up in the mass exodus of Shanghai in the wake of China's 1949 Communist revolution--a heartrending precursor to the struggles faced by emigrants today. "A true page-turner . . . Helen] Zia has proven once again that history is something that happens to real people."--New York Times bestselling author Lisa See NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - FINALIST FOR THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY Shanghai has historically been China's jewel, its richest, most modern and westernized city. The bustling metropolis was home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class when Mao's proletarian revolution emerged victorious from the long civil war. Terrified of the horrors the Communists would wreak upon their lives, citizens of Shanghai who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later, members of the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus have revealed their stories to Chinese American journalist Helen Zia, who interviewed hundreds of exiles about their journey through one of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. From these moving accounts, Zia weaves together the stories of four young Shanghai residents who wrestled with the decision to abandon everything for an uncertain life as refugees in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. Benny, who as a teenager became the unwilling heir to his father's dark wartime legacy, must decide either to escape to Hong Kong or navigate the intricacies of a newly Communist China. The resolute Annuo, forced to flee her home with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, becomes an unwelcome exile in Taiwan. The financially strapped Ho fights deportation from the U.S. in order to continue his studies while his family struggles at home. And Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces the prospect of a new life among strangers in America. The lives of these men and women are marvelously portrayed, revealing the dignity and triumph of personal survival. Herself the daughter of immigrants from China, Zia is uniquely equipped to explain how crises like the Shanghai transition affect children and their families, students and their futures, and, ultimately, the way we see ourselves and those around us. Last Boat Out of Shanghai brings a poignant personal angle to the experiences of refugees then and, by extension, today. "Zia's portraits are compassionate and heartbreaking, and they are, ultimately, the universal story of many families who leave their homeland as refugees and find less-than-welcoming circumstances on the other side."--Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck ClubAbout the Author
Helen Zia is the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, a finalist for the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize (Bill Clinton referred to the book in two separate Rose Garden speeches). Zia is the co-author, with Wen Ho Lee, of My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account by the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused of Being a Spy. She is also a former executive editor of Ms. magazine. A Fulbright Scholar, Zia first visited China in 1972, just after President Nixon's historic trip. A graduate of Princeton University, she holds an honorary doctor of laws degree from the City University of New York School of Law and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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The Epic Story of Shanghai's 1949 Exodus
Last Boat Out of Shanghai captures the dramatic real-life stories of four young people caught in the mass exodus of Shanghai following China's 1949 Communist revolution. Award-winning journalist Helen Zia weaves together deeply personal accounts that reveal the universal struggles faced by refugees across generations.
Four Lives, One Historic Moment
Through hundreds of interviews with the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus, Zia brings to life the experiences of Benny, Annuo, Ho, and Bing—four Shanghai residents forced to make impossible choices. Benny inherits his father's dark wartime legacy and must decide between escape to Hong Kong or life under Communist rule. Annuo flees with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, to an unwelcoming Taiwan. Ho fights deportation from the U.S. while his family struggles at home. Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces an uncertain future among strangers in America.
Award-Winning Historical Non-Fiction
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR and The Christian Science Monitor, this finalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography has earned praise from literary luminaries. Lisa See calls it "a true page-turner," while Amy Tan notes that "Zia's portraits are compassionate and heartbreaking, and they are, ultimately, the universal story of many families who leave their homeland as refugees."
Helen Zia is the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, a Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize finalist. A former executive editor of Ms. magazine and Fulbright Scholar, Zia first visited China in 1972 following President Nixon's historic trip. As the daughter of Chinese immigrants, she brings unique insight to understanding how crises affect families, students, and the refugee experience across generations.
Why This Book Matters Today
Shanghai was China's jewel—its richest, most modern, and westernized city—home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class. When Mao's proletarian revolution emerged victorious, terrified citizens who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later, these moving accounts reveal the dignity and triumph of personal survival, offering a poignant perspective on the refugee experience that resonates powerfully with current global migration crises.
This paperback edition from Ballantine Books brings together meticulous historical research with compelling narrative storytelling, making it essential reading for anyone interested in Chinese history, Asian American studies, or the human stories behind political upheaval.
The dramatic real life stories of four young people caught up in the mass exodus of Shanghai in the wake of China's 1949 Communist revolution--a heartrending precursor to the struggles faced by emigrants today. "A true page-turner . . . Helen] Zia has proven once again that history is something that happens to real people."--New York Times bestselling author Lisa See NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - FINALIST FOR THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY Shanghai has historically been China's jewel, its richest, most modern and westernized city. The bustling metropolis was home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class when Mao's proletarian revolution emerged victorious from the long civil war. Terrified of the horrors the Communists would wreak upon their lives, citizens of Shanghai who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later, members of the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus have revealed their stories to Chinese American journalist Helen Zia, who interviewed hundreds of exiles about their journey through one of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. From these moving accounts, Zia weaves together the stories of four young Shanghai residents who wrestled with the decision to abandon everything for an uncertain life as refugees in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. Benny, who as a teenager became the unwilling heir to his father's dark wartime legacy, must decide either to escape to Hong Kong or navigate the intricacies of a newly Communist China. The resolute Annuo, forced to flee her home with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, becomes an unwelcome exile in Taiwan. The financially strapped Ho fights deportation from the U.S. in order to continue his studies while his family struggles at home. And Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces the prospect of a new life among strangers in America. The lives of these men and women are marvelously portrayed, revealing the dignity and triumph of personal survival. Herself the daughter of immigrants from China, Zia is uniquely equipped to explain how crises like the Shanghai transition affect children and their families, students and their futures, and, ultimately, the way we see ourselves and those around us. Last Boat Out of Shanghai brings a poignant personal angle to the experiences of refugees then and, by extension, today. "Zia's portraits are compassionate and heartbreaking, and they are, ultimately, the universal story of many families who leave their homeland as refugees and find less-than-welcoming circumstances on the other side."--Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck ClubAbout the Author
Helen Zia is the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, a finalist for the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize (Bill Clinton referred to the book in two separate Rose Garden speeches). Zia is the co-author, with Wen Ho Lee, of My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account by the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused of Being a Spy. She is also a former executive editor of Ms. magazine. A Fulbright Scholar, Zia first visited China in 1972, just after President Nixon's historic trip. A graduate of Princeton University, she holds an honorary doctor of laws degree from the City University of New York School of Law and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.