Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America

Weijian Shan's Out of the Gobi is a powerful memoir and commentary that will reshape how Americans view China and how the Chinese view life in America. Shan, a former hard laborer, is thoughtful, observant, eloquent, and brutally honest, making him well-positioned to tell the story of a life that is a microcosm of modern China. His journey from the Gobi Desert to the People's Republic of Berkeley is a uniquely American success story, told with humor, deep insight, and rich and engaging detail. Shan's life provides a demonstration of what is possible when China and the United States come together, even by happenstance.

Format: Hardback
Length: 496 pages
Publication date: 01 March 2019
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Weijian Shan's Out of the Gobi is a remarkable memoir and analysis that will undoubtedly rank among the most significant works on China of our era, with the potential to fundamentally alter how Americans perceive China and how Chinese people perceive life in America. Shan, a former hard worker who has now risen to prominence as one of Asia's most renowned financiers, is insightful, perceptive, eloquent, and brutally honest, which positions him well to recount the tale of a life that is a microcosm of contemporary China and how, incredibly, that life became entwined with America. Out of the Gobi vividly depicts the unfiltered human drive and determination to succeed in the face of overwhelming adversity. Shan only completed elementary school when Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution ripped his nation apart. He was a witness to the brutality and absurdity of Mao's policies during one of China's most turbulent periods. At the age of 15, he was exiled to the Gobi Desert and denied access to education for ten years. Despite enduring countless hardships without ever losing sight of his dream of obtaining an education, Shan's incredible journey, from the Gobi to the People's Republic of Berkeley and beyond, is a singularly American success story—told with a touch of humor, profound insight, and rich and engaging detail. This powerful and intimate perspective on China and America will enlighten Americans about China, humanizing the country, while offering a rare glimpse of America through the eyes of a keen foreign observer who achieved the American dream. Says former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen: Shan's life serves as a testament to what is possible when China and the United States come together, even by chance. It is not only Shan's personal history that makes this book so captivating, but also how the stories of China and America converge in just one moment.

Weight: 930g
Dimension: 163 x 236 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781119529491