Tiananmen Moon (Asian Voices)

This compelling book provides a vivid first-hand account of the student demonstrations and violent crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Uniquely placed as a Western observer drawn into active participation through Chinese friends in the uprising, Philip J Cunningham offers a remarkable day-by-day account of Beijing students desperately trying to secure the most coveted political real estate in China in the face of ever-more daunting government counter-moves. He brings to life the story of the demonstrations, from the tentative early marches to the huge outpouring of support, from the hunger strikes and jostling for influence among student leaders, to the senseless bloody crackdown. This remarkable testament to a searing month that changed China forever serves witness to the rise and fall of an uprising, capturing the plaintive and lyrical beauty of a dream that endures and continues to haunt the country today.
Summary: Tiananmen Moon
Rating: 5
Twenty years ago on June 3 and 4, 1989 the Peoples' Liberation Army opened fire on unarmed demonstrators, killing hundreds, probably thousands , of peaceful students and citizen bystanders. Reading TIANANMEN MOON is an excellent way to commemorate the massacre and to honor the heroes of 1989, those men and women who carried banners to Tiananmen Square demanding democracy and freedom, defying the rulers of China. TIANANMEN MOON is a thoughtful,poignant, brilliantly readable and utterly compelling account of the Tiananmen uprising. This beautifully observed book reads like an extensive letter from a wise, old friend. It is the perfect introduction for those who know little of the events of that spring in Beijing. Yet it will also provide ample food for thought to those who imagine they know it all too well.