Red Roulette
An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption and Vengeance in Today's China
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Red Roulette
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Narrated by:
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Tim Chiou
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By:
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Desmond Shum
About this listen
'READS LIKE A THRILLER' FINANCIAL TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2021
In the headline-making and bestselling tradition of Bill Browder’s Red Notice comes a unique and incendiary memoir from an entrepreneur who rose to the zenith of power and money in 21st century China and whose wife was disappeared - and then mysteriously reappeared four years later on the eve of Red Roulette’s publication and global media coverage about it.
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, he vaulted into China’s billionaire class.
Soon they were developing the massive air cargo facility at Beijing International Airport, and they followed that feat with the creation of one of Beijing’s premier hotels. They were dazzlingly successful, travelling in private jets, funding multi-million-dollar buildings and endowments, and purchasing expensive homes, vehicles and art. But in 2017, their fates diverged irrevocably when Desmond, while living overseas with his son, learned that his now ex-wife Whitney had vanished along with three co-workers.
In Red Roulette Desmond Shum pulls back the curtain on China’s ruling elite and reveals the real truth of what is happening inside China’s wealth-making machine. This is both Desmond’s story and Whitney’s, because she has not been able to tell it herself.
©2021 Desmond Shum (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, UK
Critic reviews
What listeners say about Red Roulette
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Charlie
- 03-24-23
Could improve on those Chinese pronunciations.
Great story, good narration overall. But Tim can definitely improve on his Mandarin Chinese pronunciation.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- remi
- 11-09-21
Enormously enjoyable
The narration is excellent. This is a story of the not so noble inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party as well as a touching human story exposing the frailties of human relationships.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jennifer Elliott
- 12-30-21
Loved it!
if you're serious about looking at what is going on in China this is a damming account about real people and real events! Time for us all to wake up!
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Count B
- 11-30-24
It’s Nonsense
What’s the author wants you to believe is they moved hundreds of millions of dollars and they only handed out a few watches and small gifts. They want you to believe that at no time was there huge amounts of cash being passed around.
If you understand how the Chinese business system works, this is ridiculous. The author has completely minimised how illegal their actions were. The whole book is sanitised and is quite simply dull.
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