Foreword by Janet Yellen
Weijian Shan's Out of the Gobi is a powerful memoir and commentary
that will be one of the most important books on China of our time, one
with the potential to re-shape how Americans view China, and how the
Chinese view life in America.
Shan, a former hard laborer who is now one of Asia's best-known
financiers, 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, and of how, improbably, that life became
intertwined with America. Out of the Gobi draws a vivid picture of the
raw human energy and the will to succeed against all odds.
Shan only finished elementary school when Mao Zedong's Cultural
Revolution tore his country apart. He was a witness to the brutality and
absurdity of Mao's policies during one of the most tumultuous eras in
China's history. Exiled to the Gobi Desert at age 15 and denied
schooling for 10 years, he endured untold hardships without ever giving
up his dream for an education. Shan's improbable journey, from the Gobi
to the "People's Republic of Berkeley" and far beyond, is a uniquely
American success story - told with a splash of humor, deep insight and
rich and engaging detail.
This powerful and personal perspective on China and America will inform
Americans' view of China, humanizing the country, while providing a rare
view of America from the prism of a keen foreign observer who lived the
American dream.
Says former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen: "Shan's life provides a
demonstration of what is possible when China and the United States come
together, even by happenstance. It is not only Shan's personal history
that makes this book so interesting but also how the stories of China
and America merge in just one moment in time to create an inspired
individual so unique and driven, and so representative of the true
sprits of both countries."
