Wild Swans

Three Daughters of China

By: Jung Chang

Narrated by: Joy Osmanski

Length: 22 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Few books have had such an impact as Wild Swans: a popular best seller that has sold more than 13 million copies, a critically acclaimed history of China, a tragic tale of nightmarish cruelty, and an uplifting story of bravery and survival. Through the story of three generations of women in her own family - the grandmother given to the warlord as a concubine, the Communist mother, and the daughter herself - Jung Chang reveals the epic history of China's 20th century. Breathtaking in its scope, unforgettable in its descriptions, this masterpiece is extraordinary in every way.

©2011 Jung Chang (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"An inspiring tale of women who survived every kind of hardship, deprivation and political upheaval with their humanity intact." (Hillary Clinton, in O, The Oprah Magazine)

" Wild Swans is riveting. It's blindingly good: a mad adventure story, a fairy tale of courage, and a tale of atrocities. You can't, as they say, put it down. ( The New Yorker)

Good read

l.learned more recent Chinese history reading this book then in any college course. compelling story.

Wonderful

It is quite long but amazing, I had to read for a school assignment and this made it easier to do other things while listening.

Loved it!

I knew few details about China and Mao until this book. Wonderfully written and narrated, the story concentrates on the people and how Mao's policies affected them. Class and rank were everything; individuality was basically outlawed. I especially liked the fact that she wrote about three generations. Excellent book!!

I wish I had read this years ago before

At first I was skeptical when listening. But as time went on I realized how informative and hopefully accurate it is. I wish that I had listened to it, to gain a history 10 years ago. It would have given me much more perspective having made several trips of the last few years to China. I hope China opens up again, despite the fact I'm a little pised off about covid. I think history will show the corona virus is the first biological attack on the world.

Fascinating and heartbreaking!

The story of totalitarianism is always the same...exploit greed and jealousy, turn neighbor against neighbor, crush free speech, and reward the unprincipled. A story of incredible heroism and cruelty. I plan on reading all of Jung Chang's books.

Great!

I really don't understand how anyone could be bored by this! What a riveting story! And the narrator was just right. She did not try to express the emotion commensurate with the outrages. To do so would have been inadequate and not in keeping with the tone of the writing. I have for most of my life detested studying history, but as I grow older, books like this one have opened my eyes to the fact that history is really the story of human lives, not memorization of the names and dates of battles! I will be reading her book on Mao.

Great summary of post WW II China told through the eyes and memory of a contemporary

I loved this book, and the way she told the story of post war China through the story of her family.

both the story and the writing

It’s a very long book but worth the read so many details it’s amazing how much she was able to remember

A real shocker!

Jung Chang reveals what it was like growing up in Mao's China. And she managed to escape with her life. Her sequel, "Mao: the untold story" is even more shocking!

Long but worthwhile listen!!

Very interesting true story of three generations of women and their lives within Communist China.