That's China

By: Mark Kitto

Narrated by: Mark Kitto

"One of the better known foreign entrepreneurs of his generation in China." (The New York Times)

In his best-selling debut China Cuckoo, Mark Kitto described how he "lost a fortune and found a life in China". In That's China, the thrilling prequel, he tells the story of how he made that fortune. For seven roller-coaster years Kitto outwitted competitors and jealous partners to build the most profitable and popular English language publishing business in China since 1949.

To the Chinese Communist Party, media is state-owned propaganda. No individuals, let alone foreigners, will ever have a stake in it. No foreigner in modern times has come so close to the heart of the Chinese propaganda machine on his own terms. Not even Rupert Murdoch.

Told with Kitto's trademark self-deprecating humour and unsettling honesty, That's China is a rare thing - a business saga that will have you on the edge of your seat all the way to the final showdown; in the highest law court in China.

"Mark Kitto beat the odds." (Sunday Times)

©2014 Mark Kitto (P)2021 Mark Kitto

Full circle insights

Mark’s story is fascinating for anyone with experience in China, especially during that era 20 years ago. I actually worked for the officials in Yangzhou a few years later for a magazine called That’s Yangzhou. I arrived fresh off the boat back then and had no idea about the backstory until now over 15 years later. That’s Yangzhou only survived two years.

I’ve never had such a personal connection to a book like this. One of the most memorable things I’ve read in years. Highly entertaining and terrifying.