Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by June Chang

I can not stop thinking about this book. It was very well written and it was organized in such a way that you can get a bigger, more complete picture of the History of China back three generations. There is this really powerful awful leader called Mao Zedong that is worse then Hitler! Why doesn't the world know this? He is responsible for over 70 million deaths during peacetime in China. He did some really horrendous things in China and was a master of brainwashing an entire Nation! I didn't know this until I read this book. What is even more surprising is that I was alive while this was happening in China or at least my parents were.

I never really understood Communism and how people could fall for such a bad plan but from the insight in this book, it helped me understand that there can be something worse then communism and that would make it seem better then whatever there was to choose from at the time. Communism was better then what they had! What a weird thought! Oh, and if you didn't know of anything better then communism then you could completely embrace it and feel no guilt. That is what her father and mother did but in the end it turned completely around and bit them on the tail, so to speak. This is awful! I can't comprehend so much evil and hope I never experience it in my lifetime.

I have never starved. I have never worn the same outfit because I didn't have anything else to wear. I have never lived in fear of all my neighbors. I have never been tortured or even had a gun pointed at me. I have never been denied medial attention. I have never been married to a stranger. I have never been hated by others or spit on because of the class my family is labeled in. I have never been afraid to speak my mind or write a story or even read any book I want. I have never had to walk really far and I have never planted rice. I have never seen someone tortured or killed. I have always had clean water and clean food. It was never rationed. I take so much for granted!

This book gives a very good and honest portrayal of China in the 20th Century. I thought it was worth reading. It is long but worth it to understand History a little bit more and the world around us.

Whole Book