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China in Ten Words
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
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Publisher's summary
From one of China’s most acclaimed writers, his first work of nonfiction to appear in English: a unique, intimate look at the Chinese experience over the last several decades, told through personal stories and astute analysis that sharply illuminate the country’s meteoric economic and social transformation.
Framed by ten phrases common in the Chinese vernacular - “people”, “leader”, “reading”, “writing”, “Lu Xun” (one of the most influential Chinese writers of the twentieth century), “disparity”, “revolution”, “grassroots”, “copycat”, and “bamboozle” - China in Ten Words reveals as never before the world’s most populous yet oft-misunderstood nation. In “Disparity”, for example, Yu Hua illustrates the mind-boggling economic gaps that separate citizens of the country. In “Copycat”, he depicts the escalating trend of piracy and imitation as a creative new form of revolutionary action. And in “Bamboozle”, he describes the increasingly brazen practices of trickery, fraud, and chicanery that are, he suggests, becoming a way of life at every level of society.
Characterized by Yu Hua’s trademark wit, insight, and courage, China in Ten Words is a refreshingly candid vision of the “Chinese miracle” and all its consequences, from the singularly invaluable perspective of a writer living in China today.
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What would life be like for a Black boy growing up in Nazi Germany? This unprecedented autobiography answers that question with the spellbinding true story of Hans J. Massaquoi’s life in Hamburg during the height of Hitler’s regime. Hans is the son of a Black Liberian diplomat father and a white German mother. His father returns to Africa at the beginning of the war, leaving them behind in poverty without the means to flee. Within this tense atmosphere, increasingly violent Nazi policies and Allied bombing raids make Hans and his mother’s lives a day-to-day survival struggle.
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An important story, marred by lackluster writing.
- By Christopher on 03-04-15
By: Hans Massaquoi
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River Town
- Two Years on the Yangtze
- By: Peter Hessler
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In the heart of China's Sichuan province, amid the terraced hills of the Yangtze River valley, lies the remote town of Fuling. Like many other small cities in this ever-evolving country, Fuling is heading down a new path of change and growth, which came into remarkably sharp focus when Peter Hessler arrived as a Peace Corps volunteer, marking the first time in more than half a century that the city had an American resident.
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Peter Berkrot Again?
- By Abstraction on 07-10-11
By: Peter Hessler
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Good Day!
- The Paul Harvey Story
- By: Paul J. Batura
- Narrated by: Paul J. Batura
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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In Good Day!: The Paul Harvey Story, author Paul J. Batura follows the remarkable life of one of the founding fathers of the news media. Paul Harvey started his career during the Great Depression and narrated America's story day by day, through wars and peace, the threat of communism and the crumbling of old colonial powers, consumer booms and eventual busts.
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Should have been better
- By Royce Brown on 12-21-09
By: Paul J. Batura
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Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden
- Two Sisters Separated by China’s Civil War
- By: Zhuqing Li
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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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…
- By Marie G. on 04-12-23
By: Zhuqing Li
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For the Glory
- Eric Liddell's Journey from Olympic Champion to Modern Martyr
- By: Duncan Hamilton
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Many people will remember Eric Liddell as the Olympic gold medalist from the Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire. Famously, Liddell would not run on Sunday because of his strict observance of the Christian Sabbath, and so he did not compete in his signature event, the 100 meters, at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was the greatest sprinter in the world at the time, and his choice not to run was ridiculed by the British Olympic committee, his fellow athletes, and most of the world press.
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The challenge of a life lived for God's Glory
- By David on 06-30-16
By: Duncan Hamilton
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Daring
- My Passages - A Memoir
- By: Gail Sheehy
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
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Candid, insightful, and powerful, Daring: My Passages is the story of the unconventional life of a writer who dared - to walk New York City streets with hookers and pimps to expose violent prostitution; to march with civil rights protesters in Northern Ireland as British paratroopers opened fire; to seek out Egypt's president Anwar Sadat when he was targeted for death after making peace with Israel.
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Enjoyed unexpectedly
- By Corinne O'Rourke on 09-06-23
By: Gail Sheehy
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Oracle Bones
- A Journey Through Time in China
- By: Peter Hessler
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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A century ago, outsiders saw China as a place where nothing ever changes. Today, the country has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people.
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Great Book, except for the narration.
- By DMH on 11-09-10
By: Peter Hessler
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The House of Government
- A Saga of the Russian Revolution
- By: Yuri Slezkine, Claire Bloom - director
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 45 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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On the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, the epic story of an enormous apartment building where Communist true believers lived before their destruction. The House of Government is unlike any other book about the Russian Revolution and the Soviet experiment.
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Inside saga of the leaders of Bolshevism & the USSR
- By Edward V. Blanchard on 11-05-17
By: Yuri Slezkine, and others
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Lenin's Tomb
- The Last Days of the Soviet Empire
- By: David Remnick
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 29 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In the tradition of John Reed's classic Ten Days That Shook the World, this best-selling account of the collapse of the Soviet Union combines the global vision of the best historical scholarship with the immediacy of eyewitness journalism.
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The moral complexity of a comic book
- By Tot on 02-22-19
By: David Remnick
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The Red-Haired Woman
- A Novel
- By: Orhan Pamuk
- Narrated by: John Lee, Katharine Lee McEwan
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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On the outskirts of a town 30 miles from Istanbul, a master well digger and his young apprentice are hired to find water on a barren plain. As they struggle in the summer heat, excavating without luck meter by meter, the two will develop a filial bond neither has known before - not the poor middle-aged bachelor nor the middle-class boy whose father disappeared after being arrested for politically subversive activities. The pair will come to depend on each other and exchange stories reflecting disparate views of the world.
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Drags On
- By T. Conrad on 10-25-17
By: Orhan Pamuk
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expository but boring
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Oracle Bones
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A century ago, outsiders saw China as a place where nothing ever changes. Today, the country has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people.
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Great Book, except for the narration.
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The History of China
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While there are many books that explore China’s history, public knowledge is still lacking. Many people can name more than one Roman Emperor, but how many can name a Chinese Emperor?
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Maybe a bit too brief
- By Jeffrey L. Worrall on 10-27-24
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China and Japan
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China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back 1,500 years. But today, their relationship is strained. China's military buildup deeply worries Japan, while Japan's brutal occupation of China in World War II remains an open wound. In recent years, less than 10 percent of each population had positive feelings toward the other, and both countries insist that the other side must deal openly with its history before relations can improve. Ezra Vogel's China and Japan examines key turning points in Sino-Japanese history.
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China & Japan is first rate by a top scholar
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What listeners say about China in Ten Words
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Gabriel
- 06-20-17
Great stories, amazing book.
Really an honest and open introspection about the author own experiences and China as a whole. Really enjoyable times and it really opened my eyes to the current Chinese culture.
I didn't like the narrator, but only because it felt he didn't care about the content of the book. Nevertheless the narration is not terrible,
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- James
- 10-08-13
10 For 10! Great Book on China!
- People
- Leader
- Reading
- Writing
- Revolution
- Disparity
- Copy Cat
- Bamboozle
These are just a few of the 10 words that the author uses in describing not only historical China, but today’s modern China.
As a frequent visitor to China myself, I would say that the writer is spot on with just about everything that he’s telling us. China is a culture rich in tradition, history, and amazing people, who have gone through evolution of change in leadership, and now are surging ahead to become the global economic power in the world in a short time.
If you have an interest in China, this book will be perfect for you. It’s short, concise, and the author, Yu Hua, does a fantastic job of keeping us engaged throughout.
Enjoy reading about China, old and new, and this excellent book, China in 10 Words!
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- Jacqueline Hertz
- 09-07-20
Compelling Collection of Essays
This book has a unique structure as a collection of essays on life in China. The focus is primarily on the Cultural Revolution and its impact on the author's life. Definitely an interesting read with a unique structure.
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- cakemeat
- 03-12-18
thoughtful and well delivered first-hand experienc
A truly remarkable account of life in China simplified into ten word/concepts. A balance of thought provoking examples on the uniqueness of China from the eyes of a child and an adult -- the author
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- Dante
- 08-15-20
Different than expected.
I thought this was a history of China with a focus on chines characters. What it is is more of a biography. It is a story of his life with the grand events of China seen through his eyes and the experiences he had. Once I got over the change of expectation and knew what I was listening to I really enjoyed it. Small vignettes of stories that were priceless in the crazy 20th C China.
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- taylor storey
- 09-21-14
Best Popular Book on China
Fantastic book! I have now read 3 "popular" style books written about China, this is by far the best one. (The others were Dreaming in Chinese by Fallows- pretty good from a linguistics angle and Lost on Planet China by Troost - not horrible, but there's a lot better out there i'm sure). The author of this book, Yu Hua, is a prominent Chinese author who lives in Beijing/Hangzhou. He has written a number of very successful Chinese novels. This one, is ten essays on various parts of China. It is banned in China. It's a chinese person being honest about the Chinese government and history. This is a gold mine.
Reading and Copycat were probably my two favorite essays. In the first, he talks about growing up in the cultural revolution and scrounging around for books to read. He almost never gets past Mao's little red book and Lu Xun's various writings. He does find some books that have been extremely battered, often only partially surviving to feed his literary desires.
In copycat he talks about the chinese mentality behind making copycat products. A couple of times he has had fictitious interviews of him published and he will confront a reporter on it and the reporter simply says "it's copycat" and in the chinese culture, that justifies it.
There are many good things for him to say about China as well. This book was well written, engaging and so helpful for someone living in China to understand it a bit more. I enthusiastically recommend it to anyone looking for a thoughtful, accessible, historical and contemporary read on modern China.
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8 people found this helpful
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- david h
- 07-09-24
Easy flow and good narration. Getting dated, we need an updated version.
A little too autobiographical. I'd have preferred more China and Chinese people and less Yu Hua.
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- matthew
- 05-01-14
A collection of the writers experiences
This is a good overview of China and I often think of some of the words when I am walking around here now. The one that most comes to mind is disparity. I see the construction workers and cleaners who lead a hard scrabble life working all day and often sharing squalid dormitories at night, where they play cards and sit around simply constructed tables with stools playing cards or eating. This is in sharp contrast to the so called middle class guy that now has a car, an apartment, built by one of the hard working migrants mentioned above and all the trapping of success we have come to associate with a decent life.In all fairness, I live near Shanghai, so my perspective is perhaps a bit too optimistic. There are plenty of other provinces where this disparity is greater and the infrastructure isn't as modern as where I am based. Yu Hua gives us a great overview in this brief account of a large and complex country that is hurtling towards modernity. I especially liked his account of how he learned to be a dentist. A profession he took up after high school. He describes in poignant detail how a veteran dentist showed him how to extract teeth and then had him copycat the process after having only watched two times. He was nervous and couldn't even look the patient in the eye. The book is by no means an exhaustive work, but it was entertaining and provoked some better understanding of a place I have been in for nearly 5 years. Chinese people are not usually so forthcoming and so it can be a place that seems barbarous and even bizarre at times. It is always interesting and many times shocking and surprising to simply observe life in China.
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- Anna
- 03-27-15
An understanding and critical view issues in China
Having read Yu Hua's 'Brothers', I was intrigued by themes in the novel and was interested to read more of Hua's work. 'China in Ten Words' did not disappoint. Having chosen these ten words from his own experiences, Hua explained the terms (not all meaning what U.S. Americans would expect) using stories from his life in China. It is fascinating and I could easily see connections between the two books and became shocked by the authenticity of the people and events of 'Brothers'.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-18-18
fantastic memoir of modern China
excellent lesson in perspective. with enough cultural history mixed in to provide proper context, this seems to be an excellent "one man's" view about what it is to be Chinese in today's China.
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