Mao's Last Dancer

By: Li Cunxin

Narrated by: Paul English

Length: 15 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

This is the true story of how one moment in time, by the thinnest thread of a chance, changed the course of a small boy's life in ways that are beyond description. One day he would dance with some of the greatest ballet companies of the world. One day he would be a friend to a president and first lady, movie stars, and the most influential people in America. One day he would become a star: Mao's last dancer, and the darling of the West. Here is Li Cunxin's own story, a beautiful, rich account of an inspirational life, told with honesty, dignity, and pride.

©2003 Li Cunxin (P)2004 Bolinda Publishing Pyt Ltd by arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia)

Critic reviews

"[A] heartening rags-to-riches story." (Publishers Weekly)

"[Paul English] exercises such an intense and masterful concentration on the text that the listener's interest never flags.... He imbues the narrative with ingenuousness and enthusiasm, which endearingly befit the image Li is attempting to present of himself. The result is an audiobook that is superior to its source." (AudioFile)

Great story well read

This was our second audio book and forund it very well read and an interesting story.

Liked more than I thought I would

This book is a rather nice way to see into and gain perspective on the changes in China's political history since the era of Mao and how it affected one man and one family. Well read

best 5 dollars I ever spent!!!

at first I figured this book was just a quick time Passer. I soon realized that this heart felt story brought me to tears of joy and sadness.this book is a must listen of hardship and triumph 5 out of 5 thank you.

Powerful warning to our day, pay attention world!

I just finished the book "Mao's Last Dancer".  It is a wonderful read that deeply touched me.  I laughed and wept through-out the process.  The confirmation of the wisdom and divine direction that our founding fathers received and the associated universal principles of freedom that they put into place and that our people have faught, bled, and died for; in so doing, setting this nation apart from others as a beacon of freedom and individual liberty, always gets to me and makes my eyes sweat. 😊  Then to read a real life personal testament of a communist with firsthand knowledge, presenting the fundamental failure of government centralization not by publicly complaining and denouncing his mother land but testifying through his actions and life performance that individual freedom is truly the best way to fully live. Of course, we already know that this is true, global history screams of such. The greatest atrocities that the world has and ever will comes from governmrnt centralization. The most interesting part is that he never really denounces or speaks evil of his mother country, he actually builds them up and serves his people; he encouraged them to turn to individual freedom via decentralization rather than criticize and demean. He simply taught through performance in life the fact centralization is evil and unjust, that centralized government is a hindrance to prosperity and a creator of poverty and injustice not a solution for it.
His story reminds me of so many others that have bravely defected from their birth countries, Nadia Comaneci, Viktor Korchnoi, Nora Kovach, etc that do not publicly denounce their birth countries (if they did, their families would suffer) but put their lives as a testimony to the world that centralization does not work and that the God given individual freedom that our people have fought, bled and died for is truly the best path to prosperity and overall health of a nation and the best way for a truly God fearing people to live.

Beautiful yet Scary: Communist China Present Day

beautifully written and narrated. vivid descriptions and the story is told is captivating. I couldn't help but think this is in s lot of our lifetimes or close enough. America wake up!

Loved, liked, loved.

This was one of the best autobiography's I've read. I loved it overall. It took me about halfway through the book to get over the fact the narrator wasn't Asian. Not that he wasn't good, I just think it would have been even more wonderful if he had been.

odd accent

the book was great and performed well. awesome story and I believe I remember some of this story - but I was so young, maybe not.

my only complaint was that I work in China, so I know the Chenglish accent well. Trying to envision this Chinese dancer while listening to it being read by a dude with a British accent was distracting at first.

A glimpse into the worlds of ballet & Mao’s China

From the beginning of this memoir, I found myself rooting for Li Cunxin and his family. The pride and integrity Li learned from his peasant parents thrusts him into the business and artistic sides of ballet. Li brings to life the realities and joys of communist China and ballet, one of the world’s most beloved art forms. I highly recommend this book. AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

Great story !

Enjoyed this audible very much! I have been to China and could appreciate the hardships.

Delightful story

The book was primarily about his ascent from "peasant to prince" that involved an incredible amount of discipline, determination and luck. But also, and perhaps equally fascinating, was the backdrop of living in communist China and what life in China looked like in the 80's.

As the author makes his transition into (80's) America, the reader is given an opportunity to view America through an outsider's eyes. And this was one of the many things I enjoyed about the book.

Throughout the book, there's a contrast of freedom vs. communism that happens organically. It's not a political book by any means, but because of his background the story is naturally intertwined with the cultural revolution, the reign and death of Mao, and his successor.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good memoir or enjoys learning about other cultures.

The narration was excellent.