Besides being an excellent overview of death throws of the cultural revolution, this book also gives insight into the intellectual split in Chinese traditional and modern thought- Confucian vs. Legalist. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of ancient Chinese history should read this to see the continuing revelence of ancient thought in China.

I thought the book looked interesting, and it was. Many of the parts in the book show the hardships of many Chinese that did not agree with the communist views. Han, although a spy, was also a teacher by occupation. My theory is that the political unrest that took place in China was a holocaust, very much like the holocaust during WWII, where the slaying of millions of Jews took place. Many of you don't agree with me, but that is my personal opinion. I don't think that what Han did was wrong, at any point in time, especially when it said he was standing up for his own political views. I recommend this book to anyone studying CHina's cultural revolution and political history.