From Tea to Coffee by Cheng Wang

 This was like reading about a completely different world, and an interesting story of overcoming adversity and moving to another country with a completely different ideology.  Although deprived of education under the Cultural Revolution, Wang went on to be a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cincinnati, and achieve a successful career in America. This book contains many philosophical musings about the differences between American and Chinese cultures.

Middle-class and well-educated, Wang’s parents were regarded as part of the’Stinking Ninth’s’ during the Cultural Revolution, and mistreated and punished. Wang was sent to Inner Mongolia for years to help on farms, and almost deprived of a college education. He found mentors, making the best of it, and even being thankful for the experience in some ways. I think that this was because he seems to have a sunny nature, not because he approved of this crazy idea in any way. When his chance came to go to university, he really had to work hard to seize it.

Wang tells how he achieved his successful career, and how he found his wife, but the details about Chinese history and culture and the very different mindset there are the most interesting parts of the book. I felt that he seemed to lose his way a bit in the end, and I got a bit tired of it, but it is worth reading if you want an insight into modern Chinese history from someone who lived through it. 

I received this free ebook through LibraryThing in return for an honest review.