Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Pg. 99: Liel Leibovitz & Matthew Miller's "Fortunate Sons"

The current feature at the Page 99 Test: Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization by Liel Leibovitz and Matthew Miller.

About the book, from the publisher:
The epic story of the American-educated boys who changed China forever.

At the twilight of the nineteenth century, China sent a detachment of boys to America in order to learn the ways of the West, modernize the antiquated empire, and defend it from foreigners invading its shores. After spending a decade in New England’s finest schools, the boys re-turned home, driven by a pioneering spirit of progress and reform. Their lives in America influenced not only their thinking but also their nation’s endeavor to become a contemporary world power, an endeavor that resonates powerfully today.

Drawing on diaries, letters, and other first-person accounts, Fortunate Sons tells a remarkable tale, weaving together the dramas of personal lives with the momentous thrust of a nation reborn. Shedding light on a crucial yet largely unknown period in China’s history, Fortunate Sons provides insight into the issues concerning that nation today, from its struggle toward economic supremacy to its fraught relationship with the United States.
Preview Fortunate Sons, and learn more about the book at the publisher's website.

Leibovitz and Miller are also the co-authors of Lili Marlene: The Soldiers’ Song of World War II.

The Page 99 Test: Fortunate Sons.

--Marshal Zeringue