This book was revised in March 2022 after professional editing. NetGalley reviewers can download the updated PDF file here. The paperback and salable ebook versions will be available in April 2022.

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Reviewed by Linda, a former Dartmouth College composition consultant (ABT)

        … I believe yours is a very important book for young people in particular, as they need to read more stories like yours about families who actually lived history. … I think your book should definitely gain readership and impress many…

Reviewed by Jack, an Amazon reader

        Many books on China either read like a scroll of ideological bullet points or a hitchhiker's guide to scenic sights and hidden wonders. This book affords the reader no such luxury and immediately rolls into the life of a family that is easily relatable surviving China's most tumultuous years. …as the author's family moves back and forth between China and the U.S. through the decades, the book became an excellent reflection of the cross-cultural experience, with observations that can only be made from a perspective that can house the contradictory roles of native and foreigner at the same time. This was particularly evident in the later chapters.

Reviewed by Jitendra, a NetGalley reviewer

        Before reading this book, I never knew that China was once a capitalist state, which was eventually taken over by the Communists in 1949. In addition, what tactics the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) used - … The book talks a lot about Shanghai. Shanghai was a city where people from various countries could freely come and do business before the 1940s. … I also found that Shanghai accommodated around 25K JEWs who were persecuted in Europe, and, from Shanghai, they moved to Palestine, US and other safe places…

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This book has 4 sections, 48 chapters, and 170 images. The section titles are:

Part 1 (1920-1945) The Golden Age of Capitalism in China (12 chapters, 46 images)

Part 2 (1946-1965) The CCP turned Capitalist China into a Socialist Country (13 chapters, 44 images)

Part 3 (1966-1991) Mao's Failure at Reviving Socialism in China (12 chapters, 40 images)

Part 4 (1992-2019) The CCP implants Pseudo-Capitalism in Socialist China (11 chapters, 40 images)

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Not many books have documented the complete modern history of China. This book tells that history in detail. It tells the stories of three generations of a Chinese family--Helen and George, Helen's father and uncle, and Helen's daughter, Maggie. This book records history as it is and how it happened.

In the first half of this book, China was a capitalist country. Americans had many interactions with Chinese people then. From the 1840s to 1930s, American missionaries went to China. They sponsored schools that developed into higher education there. In WWII, volunteer U.S. pilots fought side-by-side with Chinese soldiers. Many Americans know that the Chinese constructed the railroad in the 1860s. Fewer Americans are aware of another group of extraordinary Chinese. To attract Chinese students, the U.S. returned part of the indemnities for the loss in the Boxer Rebellion in Peking in 1900. The Qing Dynasty sent students to America, and they used the money for tuition. The Republic of China continued sponsoring the program until the 1940s. Helen's two brothers traveled to the U.S. to study in the 1930s-1940s. George graduated from MIT with a Ph.D. So did his two brothers. They studied science and technologies in the U.S. in the 1940s. These educated then played critical roles in banking, education, architecture, and other industries back in China. However, all life changed after the Communists took over the country.

The later chapters in this book describe how the Communists scrapped the capitalist system. Socialist ideology is now becoming a trend in the United States. Americans need to know the answers to critical questions. Did small businesses fare well in a Socialist system? Could Chinese people keep their houses and land? How about social security and medical insurance? Is the air clean? How about food safety? Would the government allow private medical practice? Have people's savings shrunk to a fraction of what they had over time? Would every worker receive compensation after completing a job? Would the government view people's lives as the priority? Why do so many parents have to separate from their children to make a living? Is there a Rule of Law? Would the government help prosecute fraudsters and scammers? Would there be abuse in preschools and schools? Are vaccine shots for children safe? Could one find a place to seek justice if something bad happened? Would the government watch everyone 24/7?

This book answers all these questions for its readers by telling real stories about real people. By simply turning the pages, readers will learn about all these historical and current scenarios and scenery in East, North, South, Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, and Central China.