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Reviews
Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution by Helen Zia
mogar_pogar's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
ruyireads's review against another edition
5.0
Unfortunately, I think that many people would pass over giving this book a read if they didn't have an interest in Chinese history. I started it because of my interest in learning more about Shanghai's history, and I'm so glad it led me to this book!
Four narratives are presented (though I want to note that in order to write this book the author also performed a decade of research and conducted hundreds of interviews with Chinese from that time), each focusing on a specific individual who had to find a way to survive the unpredictability of war and internal political clashes. I can see why these four were chosen - they are from varying socioeconomic backgrounds, each with a vastly different journey and path to survival. For lack of a better way to describe it, LBOOS reads more like a work of fiction than a dry historical record. To me this was a good thing - it pulled me deeper into the story and kept me interested. Definitely recommend!
Four narratives are presented (though I want to note that in order to write this book the author also performed a decade of research and conducted hundreds of interviews with Chinese from that time), each focusing on a specific individual who had to find a way to survive the unpredictability of war and internal political clashes. I can see why these four were chosen - they are from varying socioeconomic backgrounds, each with a vastly different journey and path to survival. For lack of a better way to describe it, LBOOS reads more like a work of fiction than a dry historical record. To me this was a good thing - it pulled me deeper into the story and kept me interested. Definitely recommend!
jkdehaven's review against another edition
5.0
The book Last Boat Out of Shanghai tells the story of four people who faced Mao's Revolution in China and about their experiences. These people all lived in Shanghai, although their lifestyles and experiences were very different. This is an important piece of history to cover, because the experiences of people in Shanghai and the rest of China during World War II and Mao's Revolution are often overlooked, especially in the American context. This book offers valuable firsthand accounts about what it was like to live through these events and adds a needed complexity to how we view the rise of Communist China in history. It also offers insights into the current refugee crisis, as the author intends, because of how it shows how refugees have been treated throughout the Twentieth Century while also demonstrating what they offer and how they will benefit the countries where they are accepted. As a teacher, I would use this as a way to help students gain better understanding of the time periods we are studying with regards to China. It could be incorporated into lessons on World War II on the Pacific Front as well as lessons on the Cold War. Overall, I highly recommend this book as a way to read the perspectives of others to learn more about an understudied era of history.
cindy_shamel's review against another edition
5.0
I recommend this book as a means of better understanding the life of a refugee and how immigrants contribute to the country they come to call home.