{"product_id":"gang-of-one-memoirs-of-a-red-guard-9780803293366","title":"Gang of One: Memoirs of a Red Guard","description":"In 1966 twelve-year-old Fan Shen, a newly minted Red Guard, plunged happily into China's Cultural Revolution. Disillusion soon followed, then turned to disgust and fear when Shen discovered that his compatriots had tortured and murdered a doctor whose house he'd helped raid and whose beautiful daughter he secretly adored. A story of coming of age in the midst of monumental historical upheaval, Shen's \u003ci\u003eGang of One\u003c\/i\u003e is more than a memoir of one young man's harrowing experience during a time of terror. It is also, in spite of circumstances of remarkable grimness and injustice, an unlikely picaresque tale of adventure full of courage, cunning, wit, tenacity, resourcefulness, and sheer luck--the story of how Shen managed to scheme his way through a hugely oppressive system and emerge triumphant. \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eGang of One\u003c\/i\u003e recounts how Shen escaped, again and again, from his appointed fate, as when he somehow found himself a doctor at sixteen and even, miraculously, saved a few lives. In such volatile times, however, good luck could quickly turn to misfortune: a transfer to the East Wind Aircraft Factory got him out of the countryside and into another terrible trap, where many people were driven to suicide; his secret self-education took him from the factory to college, where friendship with an American teacher earned him the wrath of the secret police. Following a path strewn with perils and pitfalls, twists and surprises worthy of Dickens, Shen's story is ultimately an exuberant human comedy unlike any other.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePurchase the audio edition.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bison Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780803293366\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 279\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.87lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.08h x 6.30w x 0.59d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKliatt\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2006 pg. 40\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Fan Shen","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36643717578908,"sku":"9780803293366","price":21.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_08f90b82-85c7-483e-872c-521fd85897a6.jpg?v=1603857138","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/gang-of-one-memoirs-of-a-red-guard-9780803293366","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}