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People's Republic Of Amnesia (2014)

by Louisa Lim(Favorite Author)

4.36 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0199347719 (ISBN13: 9780199347711)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Not Avail

review 1: This book is an interesting account of the Tiananmen Square massacre as told by some of the participants in the drama. It also contains an account of the violence in Chengdu (I am not in a position to know how revelatory this is) when the protests about what had happened in Beijing took place.The most interesting parts for me were the recollections of the PLA squaddie who had to take pictures of the Square in the aftermath (and the pictures are very interesting), the mother whose son was killed, and those who witnessed the Chengdu violence. The stories about some of the student leaders are also notable, including how difficult they found it to move on, having been involved in a movement of historical significance which ultimately was unsuccessful.The book is well writte... moren but what I think it really could have done with was a 5-10 page essay (rather than just a timeline) at the start to set out the context for what comes next i.e, a narrative of the events leading up to Tiananmen and what happened. Because it lacks this the book does demand some prior knowledge of what happened.
review 2: This outstanding, intimate history of 1989 is told through the first-hand experiences of those who participated in and were touched by it. It is personal, complex, and above all heartfelt. Lim doesn't engage in hagiography here - she is upfront about the flaws in the student movement and its leaders - and that makes for a far more moving and human history than any I've read on this period. At the same time, she is unerring in her focus on the violence, and its tragic consequences, both for the past and present. Highly recommended. less

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