A very good and informative book about thousands of persons fleeing Shanghai.
The book starts in the late 30's and mainly focuses on four young lives and how this affected them before,during and after the exodus.
Several were brought up in luxury and the others more of a simple life but all would lose what they most wanted and that was freedom.
All were affected in one way or another by the choices their parents made and circumstances of the times.
The author of this book,was one of their children and although she focuses on her mother,it is also in great detail about the others.
This isn't an especially,feel good book,but parts are.
It's hard to fathom,what people will do in times,such as those were.
I had a hard time with reading this one,as it was vividly true,not fiction.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review "Last Boat Out of Shanghai" by Helen Zia.

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.

A highly researched book about a very confusing time in China's history. The Last Boat Out of Shanghai shares the experiences of four very different people who were involved in the events of 1949. Looking at the event from these four perspectives allows the reader to better understand the chaos that influenced people's decisions...do you stay and maybe get arrested or killed? Do you flee with nothing and start over again? Well written and researched, this book would be a good read for people interested in Chinese history.

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for a fair review, all opinions are my own.

Book Review: Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution by Helen Zia

As a bibliophile, I approached this book as falling under the category "...And Now for Something Different", - and what an incredible read!

Helen Zia deftly weaves a tale of history, drama and exodus in a tumultuous era clouded by the fog of war. Out of the stories of thousands interviewed, people who were actually there - that so-called "Paris of the Orient", the author chooses wisely - four characters with vivid memories rendering authenticity, packed with a full range of deep emotions, who in part and in whole, epitomize the exodus.

Benny, privileged son of a police major general who collaborated with the Japanese invaders. Will his family pay the price? Annuo /Annabelle, daughter of a nationalist resistance commander and Koumintang officer under General Chiang, who put his country and ideology above his family. Ho, son of landowners, the gentry class that dominated China's vast rural countryside, whose father died at an early age and whose mother endeavored to push her son to pursue an education in Japanese-occupied then communist-liberated China. Bing, twice-abandoned child, who found acceptance, perhaps even love, in a family who adapted her and a domineering elder sister, who in the end, loved her the most.

Both the Shanghainese and the foreign Shanghailanders, were resilient - even stereotyped as rich blowhards. "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose". ("The more things change, the more they remain the same"). Faced with the corrupt Kuomintang of Sun Yat-sen and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-sek, the brutality of the Japanese occupation, the furious American-armed Nationalist resistance, they coped, they made do, they survived.

But when Chairman Mao and the People's Liberation Army took over after the Japanese surrendered, death was not a question of if, but of who, when and how.

In the foreground of the exodus were invariably unwelcoming lands of the exile, whether in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or even the United States. With the massive diaspora of 50 million Chinese in preceding centuries, deep resentment or discriminatory exclusion laws greeted Shanghai refugees. Until 1943, for example, the United Stated enforced an immigration quota of just 105 visas per year.

Escaping from Mao was just one small step, even as no one then could have foreseen Red China's murderous Cultural Revolution of 1966-67 when millions of its own citizens were massacred.

But not all will leave with the "Last Boat Out of Shanghai", the General Gordon and its 1,946 passengers. Some would choose to stay, whether by choice or fate. Or perhaps traverse through a different route, leading to the same place. This book is about salvation and all will be haunted by its memories.

Review based on an advance reading copy provided by NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine Books.

The Last. Boat Out of Shanghai is an excellent engrossing read. Zia proffers snapshots of four people who escaped from China prior to the onslaught of the Communists. Each story is fascinating and equally gripping. The notes are extensive as well as the bibliography. The author provides a follow up to each person showcased in the book. It's a must read for anyone interested in Chinese or Asian history.