“Entrancing… Out of Mao’s Shadow is a work of reporting, but it is also a work of conscience.”
–Andrew J. Nathan, The Washington Post

“Compelling… His portraits of these people possess both the immediacy of first-rate reportage and the emotional depth of field of a novel.”
–Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“One of the most revealing books about China since it opened up to the outside world in the 1970s.”
–Richard Bernstein, The New York Review of Books

“Absolutely terrific…”
–Fiammetta Rocco, books editor of The Economist

“A fascinating read…”
–Jon Stewart, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

“Told with an understated eloquence and poignancy – clear-headed and straightforward, but also genuinely poetic… Keeps you spellbound.”
–Richard Burger, The Peking Duck blog

“Engaging… A reminder that even in a nation of 1.3 billion people, individuals can make a difference — and that China still has plenty of heroes left.”
–Tim Morrison, Time

“Masterfully told…”
–Amy Haimerl, Fortune

“A dark, sober, but highly important look at the struggle against repression in China…”
–Lori Valigra, The Christian Science Monitor

“Indispensable… What we have here are Pan’s first-hand, hard-won and dangerous encounters with a handful of heroes.”
–Jonathan Mirsky, The Spectator

“Pan has written one of the best of what is a very good recent crop of China books… A series of beautifully-drawn portraits brings to life people whom the Communist Party is determined to silence… An unusually intimate mural of China beyond the slogans.”
–Mark Clifford, Asian Review of Books

“A vivid glimpse of a system in turmoil… Pan illuminates with rare clarity the ironic reversals at the heart of a political and economic order that increasingly resembles crony-capitalism.”
–Minxin Pei, Slate

“A model work of investigative political journalism…”
–Jeffrey Wasserstrom, The Guardian and The Huffington Post

“A privileged inside look at China’s populace…”
–Verna Noel Jones, The Rocky Mountain News

“Stands out… Human stories with a political meaning.”
–Bruce Ramsey, The Seattle Times

“A sequence of moving portraits of individual men and women whose sufferings and occasional triumphs symbolize the country’s tragic past and likely future… Pan’s narrative style suits his subject: Businesslike yet evocative, it’s accessible in the best sense.”
–George Walden, Bloomberg

“Mr. Pan has chosen his subjects well, lets them speak, and delivers a fascinating portrait of New China…”
–Gordon Chang, The New York Sun

“A great book… Beautifully crafted.”
–Daniel Harris, China Law blog

“The stories of average folks trying to fight for human rights and dignity are often riveting, and Pan’s reporting is thorough and enlightening.”
–Regis Behe, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“Wonderful… Pan has done an excellent job in portraying the complete package — the economic strides in China along with the enormous costs that have facilitated these advances.”
–Poornima Apte, Mostly Fiction Book Reviews

“The beauty of this book is that Pan personalizes issues such as the fight against government secrecy or the exploitation of peasants, making it easier to understand what the heck is going on in China.”
–Anthony Vasquez, The Daily 49er

“Pan’s stirring reportage shows that, even in China, the individual can make a difference — at a price.”
–Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

ADVANCE PRAISE

“Phil Pan is one of the finest American correspondents to have worked in China, a penetrating reporter who works from the ground up. This is an extraordinarily important book about China’s unfinished politics.”
–Steve Coll, author of The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century

“Philip Pan’s book is a masterpiece of reportage, revealing the layers of dirt and pain that lurk just beneath the shiny surface of modern China. Weaving the past and the present into one seamless narrative, Pan beautifully relates the stories of extraordinary Chinese individuals as they struggle to reclaim their nation’s soul.”
– Rob Gifford, NPR correspondent and author of China Road

“As correspondent for The Washington Post, Philip Pan covered China like no one else, using his fluency in the language to penetrate Chinese society. He goes beyond his newspaper reporting to tell the story of Chinese people pressing unsuccessfully for political change. Pan’s book gives the lie to the notion that China is inevitably heading towards democratization.”
–James Mann, author of Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush’s War Cabinet

“Philip Pan, a journalist blessed with fluent Chinese and an intrepid curiosity, tells a heartbreaking story of good people abused and their revolutionary sacrifices forgotten.”
–Christopher Wren, author of The End of the Line: The Failure of Communism in the Soviet Union and China

“Philip Pan has brought great patience and a rare sensitivity to political reporting in China. This is the story of how power actually works there.”
– Peter Hessler, author of Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China

“A stunningly researched and crafted book, filled with tales of individual heroism, triumph and heartbreak. Pan shares his subjects’ relentless curiosity and drive to find truth; the result is a book that’s immediate, moving, and ultimately thrilling.”
–Rachel DeWoskin, author of Foreign Babes in Beijing: Behind the Scenes of a New China