Out of the Gobi
My Story of China and America
1. Edition March 2019
480 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Further versions
Foreword by Janet Yellen
Weijian Shan's Out of the Gobi is a powerful memoir and commentary that will be one of the most important books on China of our time, one with the potential to re-shape how Americans view China, and how the Chinese view life in America.
Shan, a former hard laborer who is now one of Asia's best-known financiers, is thoughtful, observant, eloquent, and brutally honest, making him well-positioned to tell the story of a life that is a microcosm of modern China, and of how, improbably, that life became intertwined with America. Out of the Gobi draws a vivid picture of the raw human energy and the will to succeed against all odds.
Shan only finished elementary school when Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution tore his country apart. He was a witness to the brutality and absurdity of Mao's policies during one of the most tumultuous eras in China's history. Exiled to the Gobi Desert at age 15 and denied schooling for 10 years, he endured untold hardships without ever giving up his dream for an education. Shan's improbable journey, from the Gobi to the "People's Republic of Berkeley" and far beyond, is a uniquely American success story - told with a splash of humor, deep insight and rich and engaging detail.
This powerful and personal perspective on China and America will inform Americans' view of China, humanizing the country, while providing a rare view of America from the prism of a keen foreign observer who lived the American dream.
Says former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen: "Shan's life provides a demonstration of what is possible when China and the United States come together, even by happenstance. It is not only Shan's personal history that makes this book so interesting but also how the stories of China and America merge in just one moment in time to create an inspired individual so unique and driven, and so representative of the true sprits of both countries."
Acknowledgments xi
Author's Note xiii
Prologue 1
Chapter 1 Man-Made Famine 5
Chapter 2 School Cut Short 21
Chapter 3 Storm of Revolution 35
Chapter 4 Turmoil Under Heaven 53
Chapter 5 Exiled to the Gobi 77
Chapter 6 Digging for Potatoes 93
Chapter 7 War Is Coming 109
Chapter 8 Repairing the Earth 123
Chapter 9 Battling Frozen Lake 137
Chapter 10 The Longest Night 159
Chapter 11 Unforgettable Movie Night 173
Chapter 12 Barefoot Doctor 185
Chapter 13 Brickmaking the Ancient Way 213
Chapter 14 Petition to Mao 237
Chapter 15 Pigs Don't Fly 249
Chapter 16 Half the Sky 267
Chapter 17 Desert Dreams of College 281
Chapter 18 Last Convulsions of the Revolution 305
Chapter 19 Roads to Rome 331
Chapter 20 Old Gold Mountain 345
Chapter 21 The People's Republic of Berkeley 379
Chapter 22 Ivy League Professor 403
Epilogue 437
Index 445
--Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senator for California
"This is no ordinary memoir. It is the engrossing, vivid personal story of someone buffeted by the tides of China's tumultuous emergence from poverty to power in the space of a few decades. Weijian Shan's journey from rural exile in the Gobi Desert to the heights of international finance is a metaphor for China itself."
--James Kynge, Global China Editor, Financial Times
"This is more than a memoir, it's an epic. Shan's improbable journey from his teenage exile in a bleak Gobi Desert work camp to becoming a renowned leader of international finance could be the stuff of fiction. Out of the Gobi is a must-read for anyone wanting a deeper understanding of modern China, and a window from which to view our nation as well."
--Jeffrey Katzenberg, founder, WndrCo, former chairman, Walt Disney Studios, and co-founder and CEO, DreamWorks Animation
"Out of the Gobi is a fascinating, inspiring book. It told me what I hadn't known about China through its modern struggles and successes, and about how the United States looks from the world's perspective, and about human ingenuity, courage, and humor that have no national limitations."
--James Fallows, The Atlantic
"To help us appreciate the story, Shan has provided a historical backdrop chapter by chapter, so that we can fully appreciate his personal journey. How Shan lived through a series of misadventures, wound up as an investment banker in the United States, and later became one of Asia's shrewdest investors is a tale worth reading. You will emerge with a better understanding of what China is and how it got there."
--David Bonderman, co-founder and chairman of TPG Capital
"Weijian Shan's astonishing story is a modern Chinese odyssey, an epic of personal and political drama, defined, above all, by sheer grit and resilience. Before he made it to Berkeley, Wharton, and the upper
ranks of global finance, Shan made it out of the Gobi Desert by telling himself, 'I will never give up.' Indeed, he never did."
--Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition, winner of the 2014 National Book Award
"Weijian Shan's remarkable journey paints a picture of grit, determination, and a gift for learning. Well-written, and filled with passionate and poignant insights, Out of the Gobi is a compelling read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the character and determination of the people who will ultimately render history's verdict on China."
--Stephen Roach, Senior Fellow, Yale University, former Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, and author of Unbalanced: The Codependency of America and China
