Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780393070040)

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.

Author: Liel Leibovitz, Matthew Miller
ISBN-10: 0393070042
ISBN-13: 9780393070040
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English
Published: 02/14/2011
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.93lbs
Size: 8.63h x 5.82w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/21/2011
Library Journal 03/01/2011 pg. 85
New York Times Book Review 03/06/2011 pg. 18
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2010
Booklist 01/01/2011 pg. 39
Reference and Research Bk News 04/01/2011 pg. 41