Last Boat Out Of Shanghai: The Epic Story Of The Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution

"This has been a decade of refugees, so it is a great time to reflect on an earlier wave – those fleeing the rise of Mao Zedong’s communist revolution in China. Helen Zia brings us into the lives of four exiles who reflect the diversity of the socioeconomic experiences of the Shanghai diaspora. Each is a story of endurance, persistence and perseverance topped with significant doses of luck. Theirs are stories of connections, community and family. Perhaps most amazing is that China does not acknowledge the Shanghai exodus, much less the enormous brain drain it triggered. Each of these stories is captivating, but together they are a powerful narrative and a reminder of the hardships of uprooting and starting again, often repeatedly, before finding a new home."