Books by Louisa Lim
“The book traces a graffiti artist, the ‘King of Kowloon,’ one of these figures who’s very known within Hong Kong, with lots of stories about him, but who gets forgotten outside. She has this fascinating set of stories and reflections about him, even as the book is largely about protests of recent decades that culminated in the upheavals of 2019 and harsh repression of 2020…In Indelible City, she does some close archival readings of newly-brought-to-light documents that have to do with the negotiations on how exactly things would work—or were supposed to work—when Hong Kong was transferred from being a British colony to being a part of the PRC. The combination of discoveries about the time around 1997 and on-the-ground reporting about 2019 is extraordinary.” Read more...
Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Historian
The People's Republic of Amnesia
by Louisa Lim
It’s the most important book to deal with 1989 in a long time: to my mind at least in the past decade.
Interviews where books by Louisa Lim were recommended
The best books on June 4th, 1989, recommended by Jeffrey Wasserstrom
In contrast to Eastern Europe, the 1989 protests in China did not lead to the overthrow of the Communist Party. But if China’s leaders chose the right course on June 4th, 1989, why are they still frightened to come to terms with it? Sinologist and historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom picks the best books to understand events at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and around China on that hot summer night.
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1
Fragile Cargo: The World War II Race to Save the Treasures of China's Forbidden City
by Adam Brookes -
2
Agents of Subversion: The Fate of John T. Downey and the CIA's Covert War in China
by John Delury -
3
Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden: Two Sisters Separated by China's Civil War
by Zhuqing Li -
4
Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong
by Louisa Lim -
5
Accidental Holy Land: The Communist Revolution in Northwest China
by Joseph W. Esherick
The Best China Books of 2022, recommended by Jeffrey Wasserstrom
The Best China Books of 2022, recommended by Jeffrey Wasserstrom
From a true story that reads like a spy novel to a detailed study of the mythic origins of the Chinese Communist Party in Northwest China, there were lots of interesting books published about China this year. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a professor at UC Irvine and specialist in modern Chinese history, recommends some of his 2022 favourites.
