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Wild Swans
- Three Daughters of China
- Narrated by: Joy Osmanski
- Length: 22 hrs and 52 mins
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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.
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Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women is the story of Brooks’ intrepid journey toward an understanding of the women behind the veils, and of the often contradictory political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives. In fundamentalist Iran, Brooks finagles an invitation to tea with the ayatollah’s widow—and discovers that Mrs. Khomeini dyes her hair.
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Auto-ethnography and good research
- By Verna on 09-26-13
By: Geraldine Brooks
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When Heaven and Earth Changed Places
- A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace
- By: Le Ly Hayslip, Jay Wurts
- Narrated by: Nancy Kwan
- Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
- Abridged
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This haunting memoir tells the brutal story of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an innocent victim whose childhood was dominated by violence, devastation, and conflicts between the teachings of her culture and the realities of war. The youngest in a close-knit Buddhist family, Le Ly Hayslip was 12 years old when U.S. helicopters landed in her village. She was raped and "ruined" for marriage by Viet Cong soldiers, imprisoned and tortured by the South Vietnamese, and sentenced to death by the Viet Cong. Ultimately fleeing to the U.S. with her children, she finally found peace, and in 1986, she was reunited with her family in Vietnam. The story of her homecoming, interwoven with her memories of the war years, paints a vivid picture of a noble, optimistic woman and her native country.
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Difficult to listen to
- By heatherhg on 07-01-07
By: Le Ly Hayslip, and others
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The Home That Was Our Country
- By: Alia Malek
- Narrated by: Alia Malek
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
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At the Arab Spring's hopeful start, Alia Malek returned to Damascus to reclaim her grandmother's apartment, which had been lost to her family since Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970. Its loss was central to her parents' decision to make their lives in America. In chronicling the people who lived in the Tahaan building, past and present, Alia portrays the Syrians—the Muslims, Christians, Jews, Armenians, and Kurds—who worked, loved, and suffered in close quarters, mirroring the political shifts in their country
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Syria as never read before
- By rami hachwi on 09-17-18
By: Alia Malek
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Across Many Mountains
- A Tibetan Family's Epic Journey from Oppression to Freedom
- By: Yangzom Brauen
- Narrated by: Yangzom Brauen
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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A powerful, emotional memoir and an extraordinary portrait of three generations of Tibetan women whose lives are forever changed when Chairman Mao’s Red Army crushes Tibetan independence, sending a young mother and her six-year-old daughter on a treacherous journey across the snowy Himalayas toward freedom.
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Excellent all around!
- By Lynn on 09-06-12
By: Yangzom Brauen
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Dreams in a Time of War
- A Childhood Memoir
- By: Ngugi wa'Thiong'o
- Narrated by: Hakeem Kae-Kazim
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
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Of Kenya's largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu, Ngugi wa Thiongo was born in 1938 in the backlands of his country (Kiambu district) to a father whose four wives bore him two dozen or so children. Ngugi was the fifth child of the third wife. His father was a peasant farmer forced to become a squatter after the British Imperial Act of 1915. Before going off to school, he had what was then considered a bizarre and inexplicable thirst for learning....
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An escape through education
- By Tango on 06-17-12
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Dancing with the Enemy
- My Family's Holocaust Secret
- By: Paul Glaser
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster, Christa Lewis
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
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The gripping story of the author's aunt, a Jewish dance instructor who was betrayed to the Nazis by the two men she loved, yet managed to survive WWII by teaching dance lessons to the SS at Auschwitz. Her epic life becomes a window into the author's own past and the key to discovering his Jewish roots.
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Amazing Unique
- By Nordic Artisan on 05-11-19
By: Paul Glaser
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Tears of the Desert
- A Memoir of Survival in Darfur
- By: Halima Bashir, Damien Lewis
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
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Halima Bashir was born into the Zaghawa tribe, whose customs have remained unchanged for centuries, in the remote western deserts of Sudan in the region of South Darfur. Halima's father named his daughter after the traditional medicine woman of the village, and she grew up in a happy and close-knit childhood environment. Her father became a wealthy man by his tribe's standards, so he could afford to send Halima to school and university. Halima went on to study medicine, and at 24 she returned to her tribe and began practicing as their first ever qualified doctor.
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A story that takes you there
- By Justicepirate on 05-22-17
By: Halima Bashir, and others
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A Moonless, Starless Sky
- Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa
- By: Alexis Okeowo
- Narrated by: Kamali Minter
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
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In A Moonless, Starless Sky Okeowo weaves together four narratives that form a powerful tapestry of modern Africa: a young couple, kidnap victims of Joseph Kony's LRA; a Mauritanian waging a lonely campaign against modern-day slavery; a women's basketball team flourishing amid war-torn Somalia; and a vigilante who takes up arms against the extremist group Boko Haram.
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Amazing and Inspirational Stories
- By F L. on 01-01-18
By: Alexis Okeowo
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Mosaic
- A Chronicle of Five Generations
- By: Diane Armstrong
- Narrated by: Deidre Rubenstein
- Length: 19 hrs and 56 mins
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>i>Mosaic is compelling storytelling at its best - from the fascinating details of Polish-Jewish culture and the rivalries and dramas of family life, to its moving account of lives torn apart by war and persecution, this an extraordinary true story of a family, and of one woman's journey to reclaim her heritage.
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Absolutely excellent!
- By Roberta on 09-22-11
By: Diane Armstrong
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Meticulously researched, Remembering Shanghai follows five generations, from vibrant Shanghai to the bright lights of Hong Kong. By turns harrowing and heartwarming, this vivid memoir explores identity and loss against the epic backdrop of a country in turmoil.
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Lovely prose, good story, deadly narration
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Scions of a once-great southern Chinese family that produced the tutor of the last emperor, Jun and Hong were each other’s best friends until, in their twenties, they were separated at the end of the Chinese Civil War. One became a model Communist, the other a model capitalist. On Taiwan, Jun married a Nationalist general, established a trading company, and emigrated to the United States. On the Communist mainland, Hong built her medical career under a cloud of suspicion about her family and survived two waves of “re-education” before she was acclaimed for her achievements.
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Wonderful Story of a Family’s Survival Through Political Change…
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Red Roulette
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As Desmond Shum was growing up impoverished in China, he vowed his life would be different. Through hard work and sheer tenacity he earned an American college degree and returned to his native country to establish himself in business. There, he met his future wife, the highly intelligent and equally ambitious Whitney Duan who was determined to make her mark within China’s male-dominated society. Whitney and Desmond formed an effective team and, aided by relationships they formed with top members of China’s Communist Party, the so-called red aristocracy.
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Desmond Shum is not a rube! He knows about wine, ok?
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Imperial Twilight
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As one of the most potent turning points in the country's modern history, the Opium War has since come to stand for everything that today's China seeks to put behind it. In this dramatic, epic story, award-winning historian Stephen Platt sheds new light on the early attempts by Western traders and missionaries to "open" China even as China's imperial rulers were struggling to manage their country's decline and Confucian scholars grappled with how to use foreign trade to China's advantage.
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Balanced readable narrative about the Opium Wars
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What listeners say about Wild Swans
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- David
- 12-15-12
Accurate, moving and chilling
I live in Beijing with my Chinese wife who was a high school student during the Cultural Revolution. I have many Chinese in-laws with first hand experience of the world which June Chang reveals to us. As I listened, I shared the book with them and they ratified its accuracy and approved the pitch perfect truth of the portrayal of the years before the "opening up" which came after the death of Mao. As a result, I experienced the book as an especially dynamic encounter with the personal histories of those around me, and this may be why I can give it five stars.
That said, it is true that the book is exceptionally detailed in its approach, and for some readers this may be excessive. There is, however, so much to recommend this in depth examination of the spiritual, emotional and ethical rape of an entire culture at the behest of one man that I am convinced that most listeners will find the book well worth the hard work. In addition, the narrative is so personal and so steeped in evocative description that it speaks to the heart as powerfully as to the intellect. And if you are willing to be challenged by the question, "What would you have done under these circumstances," you will find Wild Swans a particularly rewarding listen.
Afterwards you might want to find Chang's exhaustively researched "Mao--The Untold Story." A remarkable work.
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54 people found this helpful
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- AEL
- 12-22-11
Wonderful book and great audio-book!
This true account of the lives of the author, her mother, and her grandmother reads like a novel. The story takes the listener through many significant events in modern chinese history through the eyes of these amazing women. You won't be able to stop listening!
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25 people found this helpful
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- E Dulaney
- 03-12-12
Fascinating book!
This book was interesting and educational. This is the best portrayal of events inside China before, during and after the cultural revolution that I have ever read. It gave me a great understanding for the culture of present day China.
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22 people found this helpful
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- Mike
- 02-13-12
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!
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22 people found this helpful
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- Alexis
- 03-10-12
Loved this when I read the book
I loved this when I read it back in the 90s. It is super informative - the Maoism period was really interesting and my friends from China felt that it was a good depiction of the times. In audio form it was a bit too dense for my easy-listening, multi-tasking habits.
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15 people found this helpful
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- Karen
- 01-07-12
Eye opening
Where does Wild Swans rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
long...and very educational
What was one of the most memorable moments of Wild Swans?
cultural revolution
Have you listened to any of Joy Osmanski’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
no
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
the tea room got to me with the od man
Any additional comments?
hard book to listen to for me. started out really interesting but i got a little bored with it. there was a little bit too much detail about some things. but overall i feel very educated now about communist china. it was a great book.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Marcus
- 02-15-12
An Indictment of Communist China under Mao
Where does Wild Swans rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I've listened to two books so far with Audible, Unbroken and Wild Swans, and Wild Swans ranks second. But Unbroken is hard, very hard, for any audio book to beat.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Wild Swans?
The real life depictions of the suffering and state of mind of the Chinese during the Cultural Revolution.
Which scene was your favorite?
Chang's father rejecting the Ting's and writing the letter to Mao.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Chang's mother running to Chang, trying to bring her some dumplings, before Chang left for her father's camp.
Any additional comments?
This book provides a description of communist China under Mao that is not only essential to understand China's history, but its present as well. And because China is such a major player in our world today, it should be a must-read for any educated person. At times the book drags on, and can, on occasion, be boring. But I'm not convinced that that is Chang's fault and not mine.
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- Gilbert
- 01-08-12
Incredibly eye opening, truly wonderful.
What did you love best about Wild Swans?
This was a phenomenal read with every sentence leading you to the next with great anticipation. While the book continues to be banned in China, it's such a privilege to walk along with the author and learn with gasped breaths of new awareness at what was happening. I was stunned at the cultural hypnosis brought on by the time, by the
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- Mick Marsh
- 05-22-13
An odd piece of writing
What made the experience of listening to Wild Swans the most enjoyable?
The reader.
What about Joy Osmanski’s performance did you like?
A terrific reading voice, she was able to keep up interest even though there was little dialog.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
A Chinese women's odyssey - from bound feet through communism to the present.
Any additional comments?
Information filled, and epic, I consider this tome an important contribution to history. Literature? Maybe not. This book has very little dialog. It is a long journey, most of it "told"; very little "shown".
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- Theodore
- 02-01-12
Eceptional Writer, historically informative
Would you listen to Wild Swans again? Why?
I would listen again because there is so much information regarding the three generations covered in the book. I just purchased the book
Who was your favorite character and why?
The author.
What does Joy Osmanski bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
She has a pleasant voice and I found her easy to listen to. I don't think I can chose one over the other. I find listening when I have the time a good way to
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I think the death of the grandmother was tragic because in my mind it brought to the fore the terrible atrocities that were perpetuated when the communists were seeking power and doing all manner of evil to their own people under Mao.
Any additional comments?
I lived in China on and off for four years and taught English in an upper middle school and two universities. I knew something about Mao and actually tried to find some information on Lei feng but it is sparse. Mostly I heard he was a kind soldier who helped people. The book gave me a more complete history and I found it intriguing and informative. Having lived in China I know Mao is highly revered and with the revisionist history and the propaganda machine, the Chinese people seem unquestioning about their past. The author of this book did the one thing that frustrated me when I was talking to Chinese who did not do this and that is questioning.
I made friends in China and I spoke to her about Mao and the horrible things he did and her response was:
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