Bad Elements: Chinese Rebels from Los Angeles to Beijing

(Paperback, Main)

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'Ian Buruma is a man to read with interest, profit and care . . . He succeeds triumphantly in demonstrating that 'the Chinese . . . are not utterly unlike us, whoever we may be, and that freedom from torture, persecution, and spiritual and intellectual coercion is a common desire among all human beings and not merely a Western notion'.' Chris Patten The TimesIn Bad Elements, Ian Buruma goes behind conventional news stories of economic growth, megacities and the Olympic Games, to see today's China though the stories of its dissidents: ordinary, brave people who oppose a regime that uses repression in the name of social order. He travels through the US, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the People's Republic, to tell the stories of the rebels who dare to stand up to their rulers. From the exiles of Tiananmen to hidden Christians of rural China, he brings alive the human dimension to their struggles and reveals the world's most secretive superpower through the eyes of it opponents.Panoramic and intimate, disturbing and inspiring, Bad Elements is a profound meditation on the themes of national identity and political struggle. It is a relevant and timely account of China at street level.'The tales of courage, sacrifice and integrity in Buruma's book are inspiring. He has done an excellent job of tracking down former Chinese dissidents, not only those from Tiananmen Square but other rebels who have suffered persecution in Taiwan and Singapore.' Nick Rufford, Sunday Times'China is on the move, Ian Buruma is a leading writer on Asia, and his is an important book . . . A pungent book about the lack of democracy in Asia.' George Walden, Sunday Telegraph'A judicious, sparkling readable book.' Terry Eagleton, Irish Times

Reviews

"Ian Buruma is a powerful storyteller. . . . "Bad Elements" is the best book yet written on Chinese dissidents." --"The New York Review of Books ""[Buruma is] one of the sharpest minds writing about Asia. . . . A brilliant examination . . . impressively comprehensive." "--The Wall Street Journal" "[Buruma's] sharply observed and well-drawn portraits of obstinate, courageous and sometimes flawed people inspire admiration and compassion....A vivid history of repression and resistance." "--The New York Times Book Review" "An intellectual travelogue that gradually circles Beijing before ending up there...Buruma has a good eye for the small ironies of exile." --"The Washington Post Book World"

Author Bio

Ian Buruma is the Henry R. Luce Professor of Human Rights and Journalism at Bard College in New York state. His previous books include God's Dust, Bad Elements, The Wages of Guilt, Anglomania and Murder in Amsterdam, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Current Interest Book and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. He was the recipient of the 2008 Shorenstein Journalism Award, which honoured him for his distinguished body of work, and the 2008 Erasmus Prize.