Rating: 
Summary: arrogant views
Review: this book was wonderful I couldn't put it down I read it several
times and it just got better. She made you really feel like you
were there. I only hope this is a continuation and not her only book. Get it it's worth it.
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Summary: The iron will to survive in a horrendous moment of history.
Review: Growing up in the Philippines in the 1970s, we were taught in school about references to mainland China as "Communist China", "Red China", and "The Sleeping Giant", but I do not recall learning about the Cultural Revolution, Mao's red book, and the pervasive hunt and pursuit of counterrevolutionaries and capitalist roaders by the Red Guards. I do, however, recall President Marcos and his wife making slow diplomatic inroads to Mao Zedong and his formidable regime. The recognition of China by the UN, Nixon's early 1970s visit, Zhou En Lai's, then later Mao's death, and the news about the Gang of Four slowly peeled away layers of seclusion and gradually brought images of life in China to the outside world, including its nearest neighbors.The Cultural Revolution really hit hard on people like Nien Cheng, who, having worked for Shell Corporation, having known many professional contacts who were foreigners, and having lived a comfortable and privileged life in Shanghai, was accused of being a spy and a Kuomintang loyalist, among other things. It was hard to put the book down from the start---Nien Cheng first writes about the "calm before the storm", political upheavals are about to change the life of every Chinese person, more so with people like her and her friends who are educated and well-respected and recognized in their professions. Soon, she becomes the next target of the Red Guards, her house is nearly defiled, and treasures are destroyed or taken away from her. Nien Cheng's will to survive and last whatever time she was supposed to serve for the crimes that she never did was only driven by her hope to be reunited with her daughter. Anyone would have lost hope if he or she were put in Nien Cheng's position. Nien Cheng, with an exceptional character molded by education, moral upbringing, and professional experience, maintained her mental and emotional equilibrium by mentally reciting ancient poems, thinking positive thoughts, reading and rereading Mao's books, and ingesting every bit of news that allowed her to make a coherent picture of the goings-on in the complex Maoist government. The passage of seasons foretold changes in the political situation that might bring her close to freedom, reunion with her daughter, and reparation by her wrongdoers. Despite her day-to-day travails in prison---when the next interrogation was, how long, if it was going to help her at all, if she was going to miss a meal, how they were going to coerce her to confess, how serious her sickness was---the reader is comforted by occasional fast-forward references to the future when Nien Cheng is a free person. The road from freedom to rehabilitation took almost just as long as her detention, but as the reader who sympathized with the author, I was deeply moved by the end of the book. Nien Cheng spent two weeks on a mountain retreat outside Hangzhou before she left Shanghai for good and ultimately went to the United States. It was all for the best for her to leave her native country, yet her love of China was unquestionable. Considering what she had gone through, to move on and out of the country that brought her so much pain was the only way for her own personal redemption. I salute Nien Cheng for her eloquent personal testimony to the horrors of the Cultural Revolution and for giving her readers a look into yet another example of fortitude and character amidst adversity.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary story of courage and tragedy
Review: Life and Death in Shanghai narrates the extraordinary strength of one woman in her struggle against the toll of history. The memoirs are a deeply moving and disturbing account of life under the Cultural Revolution and its tragic impact on the lives of ordinary Chinese. The author's strength is a testimony to the tenacity and nobility of the human soul.
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Summary: The book that got me interested in China.
Review: I read this book for a class and when I first began reading, I wasn't sure I was going to understand it because I didn't know anything about Chinese culture or history, but the story captured me! Cheng was a very strong woman in a very unstable time in China. I learned so much about the cultural revolution and the difficulties that people faced during that time. It was really interesting to see the differences between that form of government and my own. And I began to realize how fortunate I am to live in a country where I can freely express my ideas. This book got me intereseted in China because it showed me the real China because it's nonfiction. This is a great introduction to the government of China and the Cultural Revolution. I am now reading more books about the Cultural Revolution, Chinese culture, and stories about immigrating to the US from China.
I usually read fiction books; so if you're a fiction reader also, please step out of your comfort zone and pick up this book! The detail Cheng uses in this book is phenomenal, I could imagine the story in the most vivid detail; just as if I had been watching it on television, or sometimes as if I was actually there. This is a book for everyone; it's not only a book about a difficult time in China, but it's about how the human spirit can survive no matter how bad life is. I love this book and Nien Cheng is my hero!
Rating: 
Summary: Loved it
Review: Unlike other memoirs about Twentieth Century China, Nien Cheng does an excellent job relating her own tumultuous journey to the greater chaos of Mao's Cultural Revolution. The result is a stark tragedy from which it is impossible to turn away. I teach a course on modern China, and this book will become required reading during the unit on the Cultural Revolution.
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Narrative
Review: This book is a powerful narrative written with incredible eloquence. Cheng's use of the English language describes a life in all its peace and hell. One cannot help but feel for her and her family. Though she spent 6 1/2 years in detention in Shanghai, not a bit of the tale comes across as monotonous. She does not neglect the background, either. After reading this, one has a full understanding of the basis of her actions and the fundamentals of Chinese life that play a role in her experience. I could hardly put this book down at night. Though I certainly wouldn't wish her experience on anyone, I was sorry for this book to end. I have a great deal of respect for Mrs. Cheng, and look to her as an example of courage. This book is inspiring.
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Summary: Vastly gripping. Must-read for Chinese abroad
Review: Although Ms. Cheng intends to have this book as her autobiography and her story of pertience and courage of conviction during the turmoil years of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, this book has ineviably become a work of political science. This book will be great for anybody who wants to understand "just why the heck are there Chinese everywhere in the world?" Through Ms.Cheng's extremely observative lenses, the lines do not merely reveal one single individual Chinese's suffering during those years of massive moral decay in China in the 1960's and 1970's, the emotions showcase the historical period vividly, and of often with a justified sarcastic undertone. For Chinese who were born abroad, this book is a must-read for all of you. The plot reveals just how completely chaotic China was during that period, thus, why so many wealthier Chinese who could afford to leave, had left to seek a better life for their offsprings in another place where money is not above moral and corruption is not an everyday dish. This book is even more essential to those who believe in the Chinese Communist Party. People who do not learn from history are truly insane, and there is a lot about China, the Chinese psyche, and how the Chinese Communist Party works one can learn from this book. Majestic achievement. Bow out to Ms. Cheng.
Rating:
Summary: Terrifying.
Review: As an employee of a foreign firm, the author was put in prison and heavily tortured. At first she didn't understand the questioning, but it appeared that high placed people wanted to discredit Chou en Lai, whom they regarded as the major obstacle to take the power in China after Mao's death. Chou had allowed foreign firms to operate in China. These high placed persons were Lin Piao and Mao's wife, Chiang Ching.
Terrible portrait of Mao's wife: brutal, shameless promiscuous, murderess (Chou's adopted daughter was tortured to death), revengeful (film directors who had refused to cast her when she was an actress, were put to death). She was also responsible for the Tien An Men massacre, where thousands of Chou's supporters were killed.
Her husband on paper, Mao, reigned as an emperor. He believed that sexual liaisons with young virgins enhanced the chance of longevity in an old man.
Appalling picture of the Cultural Revolution: nobody had to study. One had to learn it by doing it, even surgeons.
One cannot believe how Nien Cheng managed to survive the exhausting tortures, and continued to behave as a human being.
A terrible read.
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Summary: Living Chess
Review: What makes Life and Death in Shanghai so captivating is the seemingly unlimited thought put into its writing. Since Nieng Cheng's quick and cunning analytical thinking was her only available weapon of self-defense, she spared neither time nor effort in analyzing every minute detail of her surroundings. Cheng's conversations with her interrogators at the detention house resembled a real-life chess game played between two grand masters. Both parties spent days, weeks, or even months formulating a defensive and offensive strategy. Life and Death in Shanghai leads the reader though a plethora of original logical thoughts and conclusions, not unlike the deductions of Sherlock Holmes, which give the story an almost fictional feel. This book will be of interest to both casual and critical readers. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Informative but Dull
Review: Nien Cheng wrote quite a bookful with this one. This book was mildly enjoyable due to the very interesting course of events about which Ms. Cheng wrote. Unfortunately, I personally found that the book really dragged on and on in the middle. I can see that this could have been done to actually reflect the mood of the situation in the middle of the book (tedious) but it seemed like a real chore, plowing through the wordy and repetitive areas (there were a lot of them). Mind you, I'm no light reader, I do often read long novels, but I dislike feeling the weight of the book holding back my enjoyment.
On the positive side, the tale itself is fascinating, dealing with a dramatic and shocking imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution of China.
I didn't much care for this book, but then, I don't really like biographies and I think that autobiographies are typically worse.
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