China Boy

“What a knockout. An incredibly rich and new voice or American literature… China Boy grabs the reader’s heart and won’t let go… A wonder of a story.”—Amy Tan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club Kai Ting is the only American-born son of a Shanghai family that fled China during Mao’s revolution. Growing up in a San Francisco multicultural, low-income neighborhood, Kai is caught between two worlds—embracing neither the Chinese nor the American way to life. After his mother’s death, Kai is suddenly plunged into American culture by his stepmother, who tries to erase every vestige of China from the household. Warm, funny and deeply moving, China Boy is an account of how a brave friend on the street and a former pro boxing coach equip Kai to navigate through broken family relationships and the perils of growing up in America to find the triumph and richness of developing a new and complex American identity.

'During downtime on the pottery throwdown Keith made my hair curl with some of his tales - he's a great raconteur and recounts his story in this book as he does in real life - with joy, charm & mischief.' - Sara Cox 'Fans of Throw Down will enjoy this warm autobiography.' - Daily Mail 'An engaging read by an endearing, unassuming man who has always stayed true to his passions.' - Daily Mirror Ballet dancer. Front man in an almost famous band. Judge on The Great Pottery Throwdown. How did all that happen? By accident mostly. But I always say we make our own luck. What if an art teacher hadn't given me a lump of clay? What if the band had been really successful? What if I hadn't taken a photograph of a bowl to the buyer at Heals in London? What if she'd hated it? Or hadn't seen it... What if I hadn't agreed to dress up as Adele to make a crazy YouTube video? Every chapter of my book is based around an object (usually a pot) that's been significant in my life. It's just a trigger to let me go off in a lot of different directions and tell a few stories. A lot of stories. Dyslexia. The art teacher who changed my life. My Mother. My Father. A life-changing job interview with a man who lay under his car throughout. That video. Sifting through half-forgotten memories, trying to pick out the golden nuggets from the stuff that is definitely dross has been a curious, and at times hilarious, sometimes sad, but definitely enlightening process. So here it is - my pottery life with some very loud music and some pretty good dancing. And a lot of throwing, fettling and firing. Oh ...and a good dose of anxiety.

Richard V. Lee, MD, is a graduate of Yale University (BS 1960) and of the Yale University School of Medicine (MD 1964). His clinical training in internal medicine and infectious/inflammatory disease was at Yale. Dr. Lees research and clinical interests have covered a broad range of issues, including the health status of geographically isolated human populations, international health, and the complexities of managing medical complications of pregnancy. His international work has involved providing care and medical educational programs for refugees under the auspices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (Thailand, Cambodia) and consulting for the World Health Organizations Collaborating Center for Health in Housing based in Buffalo. He has a long-term interest in the relationships among environmental factors and human health. He has maintained an active research program studying the health of isolated populations in Northern Kenya (Rendille tribe), Brazil (Kayapo, Parakana, and Apalai tribes), and the Northwestern Himalaya (Ladakh). Dr. Lee developed the Medical Trek Program at the State University of New York at Buffalo 15 years ago. The medical treks have allowed a variety of students to participate in field work with isolated populations. He is emeritus secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Yale-China Association and maintains active academic interchange with medical schools in Hong Kong, Changsha (Hunan Province), and Beijing. He is presently Professor of Medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo with secondary or adjunct appointments as Professor in Pediatrics, Obstetrics, Anthropology and Social and Preventive Medicine. He has written chapters for toxicology and occupational health textbooks as well as the standard texts for obstetric medicine. He has published more than 200 papers, essays, and book chapters and edited several books. Dr. Lee is a peer reviewer for numerous scientific and medical journals. He is corresponding editor for the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (UK) and an associate editor of the International Journal of Environmental Health Research. He is Medical Director of Ecology and Environment, Inc., and has been a member of its Medical Advisory Board for 20 years

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist offers an intimate investigation of China’s one-child policy and its consequences for families and the nation at large. For over three decades, China exercised unprecedented control over the reproductive habits of its billion citizens. Now, with its economy faltering just as it seemed poised to become the largest in the world, the Chinese government has brought an end to its one-child policy. It may once have seemed a shortcut to riches, but it has had a profound effect on society in modern China. Combining personal portraits of families affected by the policy with a nuanced account of China’s descent towards economic and societal turmoil, Mei Fong reveals the true cost of this controversial policy. Drawing on eight years of research, Fong reveals a dystopian legacy of second children refused documentation by the state; only children supporting their parents and grandparents; and villages filled with ineligible bachelors. A “vivid and thoroughly researched” piece of on-the-ground journalism, One Child humanizes the policy that defined China and warns that the ill-effects of its legacy will be felt across the globe (The Guardian, UK).

"An ADST-DACOR dipolmats and diplomacy book."

Population politics are a major issue in China. Susan Greenhaigh explores the origins and development of the one-child policy from the late 1970s to the present day, showing how sociopolitical life in China has been subject to scientization and statisticalization.