Books with author Bette Bao Lord

Urgent and timeless, Legacies brings us closer than we have ever been to penetrating the great conundrum of China m the twentieth century. It could only have been written by Bette Bao Lord -- born in China, raised in America, author of the bestselling novel Spring Moon, wife of a former American ambassador to China, resident in Beijing during the "China Spring" of 1989. Lord's unique web of relationships and her sensitive insight have enabled her to observe Chinese life both high and low, Communist and dissident, intellectual and ordinary.Lord interweaves her own story, and that of her clansmen, with the voices of men and women who recall the tumultuous experience of the last fifty years, and the legacy of the Cultural Revolution. In precise, subtle prose, Lord explores the reality of Red Guards and reeducation camps, of friends and families severed by political disgrace, and captures the individual voices of those caught up in them: the seven-year-old girl with a heart full of hate for her father; the journalist whose girlfriend believes the Party newspapers, not him; the imprisoned scholar who hid his writings in his quilt for years; the anti-revolutionary who tells his bitter story in a vein of high farce. All bear heartbreaking witness to the surreal quality of Chinese society today -- and to the astonishing resilience, humor, and heroic equanimity of the Chinese spirit.

[Children's Fiction (Ages 8-12)] [Read by Melissa Hughes] In 1947, the Year of the Boar, Sixth Cousin, also known as Bandit, leaves China with her parents for a new beginning in America. Proud of the American name that she chose herself, Shirley Temple Wong is optimistic that her new home will be the land of many opportunities. But it's harder than she expected. She doesn't speak English, the kids at school ignore her, and she feels very far from home. But then summer comes, bringing the miracle of baseball. Soon Shirley is the biggest Brooklyn Dodgers fan of all, listening to the radio to hear the triumphs and heartbreaks of the team and her hero, Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson proves that in America, the grandson of a slave can make a difference. And for Shirley as well, on the ball field and off, America becomes the land of opportunity.

[Children's Fiction (Ages 8-12)] [Read by Melissa Hughes] In 1947, the Year of the Boar, Sixth Cousin, also known as Bandit, leaves China with her parents for a new beginning in America. Proud of the American name that she chose herself, Shirley Temple Wong is optimistic that her new home will be the land of many opportunities. But it's harder than she expected. She doesn't speak English, the kids at school ignore her, and she feels very far from home. But then summer comes, bringing the miracle of baseball. Soon Shirley is the biggest Brooklyn Dodgers fan of all, listening to the radio to hear the triumphs and heartbreaks of the team and her hero, Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson proves that in America, the grandson of a slave can make a difference. And for Shirley as well, on the ball field and off, America becomes the land of opportunity.

Bestselling novelist Bette Bao Lord, author of Spring Moon, is connected by infinite threads of family & experience to China. Born in Shanghai in 1938, she emigrated to America at the age of 8. Returning to China as the wife of the U.S. ambassador, she stayed to witness the blossoming of the fragile 'China Spring' of 1989. Here she pieces together a half century of turbulent Chinese history -- through her own memories & the moving stories of men & women (many of necessity remain anonymous) from all strata of Chinese society. This beautifully written book evokes the tenderness & violence, traditions & iconoclasm of China & conveys the dignity of the Chinese people.