Swimming to Freedom is a deeply personal, heart-wrenching memoir of Kent Wong's upbringing in Communist China during the Cultural Revolution and his tenacious flight to freedom against all odds. When Kent Wong was a young boy, his father, a patriotic Chinese official in the customs office in Hong Kong, joined an insurrection at work and returned with the family to the newly established People's Republic of China. Hailed as heroes, they settled in the southern city of Canton. But Mao's China was dangerous and unstable, ...
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Swimming to Freedom is a deeply personal, heart-wrenching memoir of Kent Wong's upbringing in Communist China during the Cultural Revolution and his tenacious flight to freedom against all odds. When Kent Wong was a young boy, his father, a patriotic Chinese official in the customs office in Hong Kong, joined an insurrection at work and returned with the family to the newly established People's Republic of China. Hailed as heroes, they settled in the southern city of Canton. But Mao's China was dangerous and unstable, with landlords executed en masse and millions dying of starvation during the Great Leap Forward. Swimming to Freedom is a memoir of a childhood amid revolutionary times, where boyish adventures and school days mixed with dire poverty and political persecution, and a moving story of an inextinguishable yearning to be free. Mao's Hundred Flower Campaign ensnared Wong's father. A decade later the Cultural Revolution closed schools, plunged the country into chaos, and scattered Wong and his sisters to disparate villages where they struggled to eke out a bare existence. Wong began to realize that with higher education closed to him (as the son of a "capitalist rightist"), he had no future in China. So, when he hooked up with a dissident underground and heard about fellow countrymen braving extraordinary hardship to reach freedom by swimming across miles of open water to Hong Kong, he decided to risk his life for a better future. Swimming to Freedom is an extraordinary account of a largely unknown chapter in history, when an estimated half million "Freedom Swimmers" risked everything to escape hardship and oppression. It is a gripping memoir and a moving testament to the human spirit. "It's a lesson in degradation and determination. Yet it's also an adventure story of forged documents, homemade rafts, and sneaky smugglers." -- New York Daily News
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Add this copy of Swimming to Freedom: My Escape From China and the to cart. $11.40, good condition, Sold by Evergreen Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Harry N. Abrams.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 320 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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Add this copy of Swimming to Freedom: My Escape from China and the to cart. $44.66, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Harry N. Abrams.
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 320 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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