Shanghai Diary [Paperback]

Ursula Bacon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

Shanghai, China-once called the "Armpit of the World"-was the port of last resort for 18,000 European Jews escaping from Adolph Hitler's extermination pogroms in Europe. As a survivor of the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in WWII, the author tells her remarkable story of growing to maturity in the teeming clutter and clamor of crowded streets, screeching vendors, the miasma of running sewage, discarded newborn girl-babies, dripping humidity and pestilence-breeding rats. Between tears and laughter, she relates how she and her parents learned to live by their wits, overcome despair and value life more dearly because danger and death were always near. The author saw her best friend die of fever, learned about life and matters of the soul from a Buddhist monk, about love from Chinese concubines, swam plague-infested waters to aid in the rescue of American airmen and took to heart the message of wise old Mrs. Goldberg who always reminded her, "Go out and make a miracle today, God's busy, He can't do it all."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ursula Bacon is a seasoned author. She has written the popular Nervous Hostess Cookbook and is co-founder and publisher of BestSeller Consultants Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 261 pages
• Publisher: Hara Publishing Group (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883697611
• ISBN-13: 978-1883697617
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #68 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Holocaust
  • #74 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Family & Childhood
  • #95 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Japanese

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shanghai Diary, the little-known story of the Shanghai Jews, April 15, 2002

By 

Rachael Clearwater, author (Portland, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shanghai Diary (Paperback)

When I started Shanghai Diary, I found that I simply couldn't put it down. I hadn't known the story of the Shanghai Jews in the Hongkew ghetto, and I was riveted by the well-written story of Ursula Bacon's 8 years as a young girl in Shanghai, where it was nothing to see a dead baby girl thrown on a heap of trash and where day-to-day existence was harsh and often degrading. Despite all of this, Ursula's family managed to maintain their dignity and prevail. To me it was a story of great courage. When she left Shanghai at the end of the war, far from being devastated by the experience, Ursula took away the lesson that she had seen first hand what hate can do, and she would never hate anyone as long as she lived. The book was so moving that I had to sit quietly and reflect for quite some time after I read the final page.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration, History, and a Study in Contrasts, April 28, 2002

By 

Peggy Lumpkin (Lake Oswego, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shanghai Diary (Paperback)

Wow! I was in tears by the second page. I ordered takeout and left dishes in the sink just so I could keep reading this compelling glimpse into a lesser known aspect of World War II. I'm not a history buff, but Ursula Bacon's story drew a sketch of the war at such a personal level that I couldn't stop reading.

The book covers the eight year period during which an aristocratic Jewish family fled Nazi occupied Germany to Japanese occupied Shanghai, only to be trapped in a detention center when Japan joined the German Axis.

Lest you think the subject might be depressing, let me assure you that it is quite the opposite. The courage, enthusiasm, and even humor that this family mustered to deal with their adversity is inspirational. I especially enjoyed how the author shared the spiritual insights she gained during this period. She blended her Jewish background with Catholic schooling, enhanced by teachings from a Buddhist monk and her own intuition. The result is that she could feel compassion for those who would victimize her. That's a lesson most of us can't achieve in a whole lifetime of petty annoyances. Yet, this young girl managed to love the enemy that treated her as a "sub-human" and "lowest form of life," to use her own terms.

I think this book would appeal to a wide variety of people at any age. Some of the images portrayed will stay with me forever- the bombings, the squalor, the beauty. The author's style vacillates between conversational and lyrical. The way she dealt successfully with the contrast between her former life of unimaginable opulence and then her ordeal with abject adversity was stunning. I already find myself taking guidance from her Buddhist teacher Yuan Lin who always reminded her, "Remember, it's all the same."

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MAKE A MIRACLE--You Can Do It!!!!!!!!!!, July 19, 2005

By 

Historical Writer (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shanghai Diary: A Young Girl's Journey from Hitler's Hate to War-Torn China (Hardcover)

Several months ago I saw the author, Ursula Bacon, on BookTv (C-Span 2). I was very impressed with her; her lecture was excellent; and the true story of her life from the age of 10 to 18 was compelling. So, I immediately ordered her book. But the book sat on my desk for weeks making me feel guilty about not reading it. I too am a writer. So, finally after completing one book and revising another one, I took a break. And what a break that was--when I was transported to the CHINA of 1938-1946! Ms. Bacon, an only child of a Jewish family, left Germany with her parents as Hitler and his cohorts were rounding up Jews and transporting them to Death Camps.

By the time Vati, Dad, and Mutti, Mom, were looking for countries to immigrate to, every country had closed its doors to German Jews except Shanghai, China. And Shanghai was a total mess, worse than anything most Americans would ever see. But Ursula's family lived in the filthy disease-ridden slums and survived by bartering their few possessions for food. Ursula, up until then a very sheltered child, attended a Catholic school where most classes were taught in French. And most of the time she remained optimistic, made many European and Chinese friends of all ages, learned to speak Mandarin Chinese, encouraged her Mutti, and helped Vati with his business endeavors.

Ursula became an adult before becoming a teen! And she encountered many bizarre situations which she handled better than most adults. The worst was when she was 12 or 13 and killed a drunken Japanese soldier with her bare hands when he attacked her as she walked home from a friend's house late at night. She didn't tell her parents, though, because she didn't want to burden them with additional worries.

This intriguing and inspiring survival tale is about Jewish refuges in China during WW II, though it depicts the color of Shanghai and the many nationalities struggling to survive their wartorn world. I didn't want SHANGHAI DIARY to end! However, I couldn't wait to finish it, so I could pass it on to an friend whose daughter adopted the most delightful Chinese girl who I predict will someday be an important leader in some capacity.

The world has grown so small today that every American should go out of his or her way to become acquainted with other cultures and religions. And every American teenager should be given the opportunity to live in a foreign country to learn new languages and cultures. I give this wonderful book MORE than FIVE STARS! And I hope parents will share it with their teens and high school teachers will use it in their classes. Thanks, Ursula! K.J. McWilliams, book reviewer as well as author of Pirates, The Journal of Leroy Jeremiah Jones, a Fugitive Slave, The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo, and The Journal of Darien Dexter Duff, an Emancipated Slave, winner of the Young Adult Fiction 2003 Royal Palm Literary Award.