Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China
â€œWhat freedom the Chinese people now enjoy has come only because individuals have demanded and fought for it, and because the party has retreated in the face of such pressure,â€ Pan writes. The dream of a completely free society, however, has not yet accompanied a free marketâ€"despite the growing efforts of everyday men and women fighting the system. Through detailed and illuminating interviews with artists, journalists, entrepreneurs, and peasants, Pan reveals a country filled with local government corruption, human rights violations, and collusion between the Party and the private sector. While Panâ€™s exposÃ© on China left a few critics feeling hopeless, most took away a more optimistic message about Chinaâ€™s future. In either event, they agreed thatOut of Maoâ€™s Shadowachieves â€œthe immediacy of first-rate reportage and the emotional depth of field of a novelâ€ (New York Times).Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.