Customer Reviews

Unbound: A True Story of War, Love, and Survival

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1934, Mao Zedong set on his grueling 4,000 mile trek. With him were 65,000 dedicated men and 30 indomitable women. Not camp followers nor companions, these women warriors fought alongside the men and just like the men, suffered from starvation, vermin, disease and lack of proper clothing, equipment and and basic necessities. They left behind families and children, and if they became pregnant, were forced to abandon their babies to die by the roadside.

This was the kind of strength, determination and sheer guts it took to break the chains that, for millenia, kept Chinese women at the level of slaves. Women, even of the upper classes,had no value beyond the ability to bear sons and walk gracefully on feet crippled by binding. In impoverished families, a talent for outworking the family ox was an added requirement.

These 30 women rebels were there not just to do battle with Chiang Kai Shek's armies and win the hearts and minds of the peasantry. They were also going to change the role of women in China forever. And they were willing to pay any price to succeed. So they marched alongside the men, fought alongside the men, starved with them and watched their loved ones die.

That this ragtag, shirttail army was successful is a testimony to Mao's leadership and brilliance, his military strategy and his remarkable knack for public relations and propoganda in reaching China's vast sea of ignorant, suspicious and insular peasants.

Mao was, without doubt, a charismatic genius who outmaneuvered, out-thought and outfought Chiang Kai Shek and his well-equipped, sophisticated, U.S. backed and bankrolled army. How in hell did he morph into the demented, ego-crazed Mao of later years? What transformed Mao from that brilliant young leader into a demented old man who single-handedly orchestrated famines, cultural genocide, and the death of millions of his own people?

Mao became obsessed with harebrained schemes...he diverted the entire country to a lunatic smelting project, purportedly to boost steel production. Since the raw materials were never supplied, and because failing to meet quotas was punishable by exile, farmers and factory workers melted down cooking pots to refabricate into more cooking pots. Mao conjured up the down-the-rabbit hole insanity of the Cultural Revolution, where up became down, surgeons were sent to the countryside to raise onions and peasants were sent to hospitals to perform surgery. Intellectuals were imprisoned and factory workers were making economic policy.

Still, the Cult of Mao persisted. He engendered such loyalty that his followers would literally have stepped through the gates of hell for him. And as it turned out, for the 30 women who accompanied Mao, that's pretty much were they ended up...disgraced, imprisoned, exiled, executed. After Mao took control, many of these women became powerful political leaders in their own right, some married men of power. But the victory and glory didn't last. Some were victims of the Cultural Revolution, some simply ran afoul of Jiang Qing, that spidery little power behind the throne.

30 women -- brave, cunning, driven -- today they aren't even remembered. Chinese past is malleable. It's rewritten and edited by every new regime and although I've read considerably about post-WWII China, I had only the vaguest knowledge of these women. This book gives us a little more, but I would have liked a deeper look beyond the titles they were given and the political roles they played. Where did they come from, what were their personalities? Who were their mothers and fathers and how were they raised? These are the women who created the opening that led to women's rights in today's China. In less than one generation, they changed thousands of years of laws and customs...a feat that is even more mind-boggling and remarkable than the Long March itself.

Even without better coverage of the human side of these women, this book is still essential reading for anyone whom is fascinated by Mao's long march from poet and visionary to general, world leader and madman.

This historical retelling of the Long March is so fascinating that I found it hard to put down. I'm not much of a history buff, but the readability of Unbound makes it a must read even for fiction lovers. Dean King has clearly done his research and brings you right alongside these determined women as they persevere and endure unbelievable hardships. The pronunciation key and definitions are a big help if you are not very knowledgeable about Chinese culture. I enjoyed curling up with this book and escaping to a world so unfamiliar to me and so full of intrigue.

Reviewed by Daniel A. Métraux



Chinese women enjoy considerable liberties today. They are educated, are free to embark on their own careers, and can marry anyone they wish -- or choose not to marry at all. Although there is evidence that many Chinese men receive preferential treatment in hiring and education, women in China have come a great distance over the past several generations. Gone are the days when the old custom of foot binding would condemn a woman, especially those from good families, to a painful life of hobbling around. A woman's status and beauty were often measured by the small size of her feet and only peasant girls who labored in the fields had normal-sized feet. The practice was outlawed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over six decades ago when they defeated the Nationalists and created the People's Republic of China.



The abolition of foot binding was one of several measures adopted by the new regime to greatly enhance the status of Chinese women. "Liberation" for most Chinese women only occurred after the success of the Revolution, but women played a major role within the CCP from its inception in the early 1920s. Their enhanced status is evident in the role that thirty women, chosen by the party, played in the historic Long March of 1934 and 1935. Their stories are portrayed in author Dean King's recent book, Unbound: A True Story of War, Love, and Survival. King portrays not only the struggle of these women to support the desperate attempt of the Chinese "Red" Army to escape Nationalist and other enemy forces, but also their former lives of servitude, poverty, arranged marriage, and bound feet. The story of these women is also the story of those women who joined the Communist crusade in the late 1920s and 1930s and who dedicated their lives to the early Communist revolution.



The story of the Long March is well known. At this time the 86,000 man Red Army, surrounded in southeastern China by perhaps as many as a million Nationalist troops, broke through enemy lines and began a 4,000 heroic march to the safety of northwestern China. Only a few thousand marchers survived the ordeal through treacherous terrain, constant attacks by Nationalist and other forces, and terrible weather. King's more focused account sees the march through the eyes of these women--a diverse group that included Ma Yixang, 11, a peasant girl sold by her family; Jin "Ah Jin" Weiying, 30, a college-educated teacher who became active in the Chinese labor movement; and Zhou "Young Orchid" Shaolan, 17, a nurse who refused to be left behind when the army tried to send her home. We see the march from their perspective-- their heroic work to nurse injured men back to health, their romantic attachments, their pregnancies and the several babies born on the march that they had to leave behind, and their later involvement in CCP politics. The women recall romantic attachments, political awakenings, and service in the army and later in Communist politics.



Dean King, who spent five years in China researching this book, visiting China, and interviewing scores of Chinese historians and march survivors, presents a fascinating view not only of the Long March itself, but also of the role of women in the early years of the Communist movement. The author offers a very graphic picture of the day-to-day hardships and struggle to survive. We see thousands of marchers die either in battle or from illness and fatigue. We meet the various, often hostile, people the marchers encountered en route. King, more than any other writer, recaptures the drama and flavor of this momentous time in Chinese history. King concludes his work by describing the lives of the heroic women who survived and who ironically lost their status as heroes during the horrors of the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Unbound is a must read for any student of modern Chinese history and ranks with Red Star Over China as one of the classic narratives of the early days of the CCP.

This is a very interesting book -- I knew absolutely nothing about Mao's Long March. The book covers a period of time in Chinese history in which the Communists and Nationalists are battling for control of the country. The Nationalists have superiority of forces and have the Communists trapped. But the Communists manage to escape (at least the leadership core and many soldiers) and engage on a multiyear many thousand mile march through hostile country to try to survive.

The book traces the lives of several women involved in the march. It shows the world of peasantry that they came from, the appeal of Communism for them, and the hellish journey on which they embarked, often cold, starving, sick and under attack.

What I like about this book is the human view it takes of the women involved in the journey, and how it captures the enormity of China, the varied scenery, and the feelings the women had. I also like how the book treats this period of history... essentially two years... with such depth and from the female viewpoint.

What I dislike about the book is that although it touches briefly on purges, it almost makes light of the destruction the Communists wreaked in their country. So while one is very sympathetic with the people involved in the book, and their suffering is quite real, the suffering of others is brushed over. The book will say something like-- so they came into town and executed the wealthy, and then they painted slogans -- so you don't see the incredible cost of human lives and culture that were lost and were subsequently lost in purges. So while it is great that the book takes the side of the Communists and paints a very real face on them, it would be stronger if the book treated the downside with more detail.

Unbound: A True Story of War, Love, and Survival


Unbound is not for the faint hearted and if there is any love in this book it is for the cause and country. The thirty or so women in this amazing march a crossed China while in Mao Tse-tung's Red Army are exposed horrendous conditions, risk everything in the hopes of not only a better life for them but a better country, and not all live through to the end.

I have to say that war is harsh and it is depicted in this devastating story well told by Dean King. As a woman reading it, I felt the sacrifices to be more than I even wanted to read and yet, at the end of the book, I certainly felt appreciation for what I have.

I recommend Unbound by Dean King for those who want to escape fully into a book that will take them on a long journey through China that includes suffering, survival, and determination.

UNBOUND by Dean King, is a true story of war, love, and survival leading up to and during the Maoist years in China. The book tells the stories of the thirty women who made the grueling Long March with the new Communist Party members to flee Chiang Kai Shek's army and to try to save the villagers along the way from starvation and privations due to the marauding Nationalist Soldiers, who pillaged, raped, and burned, and killed. The young communist marchers through the hundreds of miles of countryside were strictly forbidden from stealing or harming anyone along the way. They always paid for the goods they used and the food they bought and the peasants were glad to have them make camp in their villages. The stories of privation, near starvation, pain, blistered feet, cold, fear and anguish at the state of their beloved country are horrible. These brave women moved on for what they believed would help their country and they served as nurses, cooks, and companions, for the soldiers in bravery that is unbelievable. Unbound comes from the fact that until this time in China women's feet were broken and bound tightly so that they could only take tiny steps, which were considered beautiful by the men who were lords over their wives. These brave 30 marchers were among the ones who set the status of women free and unbound the feet and unbound the way of life which has always existed for women in China until after the war in the mid-20th century. No matter what your politics, this book is an inspiring story of privation and bravery among women in times of war. The author interviewed the living members of the march to get their true stories from their mouths and then wove these into this fascinating and poignant, historically accurate book. Excellent!

Dean King's Unbound is a fascinating story of one of the most grueling examples of human commitment and resilience in the last 100 years. The challenges faced by Mao's group of followers were varied, deadly and emotionally draining - particularly for the women followed throughout the book. I enjoyed learning of these early Communist experiences which ultimately galvanized their followers and provided a struggle of mythic proportions that would aid their rise to power later in the century. The stories of the treachery within the party's power elite were almost as interesting as the various battles with the outside elements - the Nationalists, the local and regional warlords, the horse swallowing bogs, disease, the altitude, etc. A great read for anyone who is interested in Chinese history, military conflict, the feminist movement and outdoor adventure.

Back in 1933, China's Red Army was actively recruiting peasants and workers into their ranks. West was very much unaware of civil turmoil between the Nationalist Army and the revolutionaries. This book focuses on the long march on foot that Red Army undertook in order to escape attack from the Nationalists.

It is fair to say that author Dean King focuses on female warriors of the army. It is amazing to learn that women were outnumbered by men 500:1. Most women who joined Red Army saw it as a way to escape their doomed existence. Many of them were sold as child brides to other families, or were sold into slavery. Women were also looking for ways to escape chinese custom of their feet being bound, painful process imposed on them in early childhood. To break with tradition, many women adopted cutting their long braids into short haircuts. Red Army allowed them to learn how to read an write, they assumed roles as nurses and caretakers of the soldiers. For the first time, women were free to choose who to marry.

Outnumbered by the mighty Nationalist Army, these women along with the troups they belonged to take on 4,000 mile track on foot through forrests, mountains and steppes of China sometimes embraced and sometimes hunted by the local tribes of all nationalities. On their track they overcome harsh weather conditions, complete lack of hygiene that takes over many with illnesses and deseases and frequently death. They are raped by their enemies, sometimes forced to become concubines when taken as prisoners of war and frequently imprisoned for long persiods of times or murdered in a savage manner that left their bodies mutilated for all to view.

This is an amazing story about human endurance, willpower and idealism that often cost its participants their lives. It is a book that honors women who devoted their lives to the cause they believed in. Many of them sufferred loss of children on this track, all had to forgo dignity and some found themselves discarded by their husbands and replaced by younger, heatlhier women when the fight was over. Book has many pictures of female participants in this march. Bibliography is rich and provides additional information on this enourmous willpower to survive and succeed. It is a book about the part of the Chinese history that explains why Red Army still has a stronghold in this vast, diverse and sometimes unforgivable country.

This is the story of 30 women and some 86,000 Chinese Communist troops that began what turned out to be a 4,000 mile journey lasting some 370 days. In October of 1934 the Chinese Communist Red Army, led by Mao Zedong, began in earnest the Chinese revolution and embarked on an epic journey to escape from the Chinese Nationalists under Chiang Kaishek.
The book focuses on the stories of the 30 women but includes in general terms descriptions of the Red Army and its commanders.

The story of these truly heroic women is one of dedication, endurance, survival, and idealism that at times is difficult to believe. The trials and tribulations faced by the women are perhaps the most difficult ever faced by women in any environment. Not only did the women suffer and endure the same as the men the myriad hardships on the Long March such as weather extremes common to trekking through highland swamps, climbing Tibetan mountain peaks that challenge climbers to this day, and marching through desert wastes but they experienced the heart breaking requirments of leaving new borns along side the trails and in bushes never to be seen again. In addition, the women fought in combat and carried wounded soldiers on stretchers and their backs over terrain that tested the most experienced and strongest of the soldiers.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in the culture and early history of the Chinese Communist revolution. It also will be a reminder of the tenacity and loyalty of the Chinese when put to the extreme test. They were not and are not a culture that will give up a cause or fight at the first set back or defeat.

That said, the book is not highly readable. It is written in a dry almost perfunctory manner. While the emphasis is on the women there is not as much biographical information as one would expect and very little narrative. To be sure the subject is difficult given the numerous foreign words and phrases and there is some helpful notes on pronunciation of words and their meanings but it is difficult to follow the story without constant referal to the notes section. Dean King is a good writer but this is not one of his better works. It is an inspiring story and fills in some blanks on this important event in world history but it is not something a reader would choose for really enjoyable reading.

As I read some of the reviews on Amazon, i noticed that many of the people reviewing this book had considerable knowledge on the Long March. While I have read books like this one and have enjoyed other historical notions on the why and wherefore, I am only a reviewer and do not have the background some of these reviewers possess. So, if you want the context to place this book in, you might want to read some of these really grand reviews. If, however, you want to know about what a layman thought on the book, I would have to say that I enjoyed it. There were a lot of things noted here that led up to the Long March, what happened becaus eof it, and what happened to the people involved in it. sometimes this was beyond horrific because you could picture a person that this happened to. Other times this was heartbreaking and made you think of exactly why something like this would happen, and how it would impact everything you did after that. I think this is the mark of a great writer, noting not only an event but also making you really examine it in relationship to what you know. The pain and th eharrowing expierences; they are amazingly detailed and terrible in a lot of way but, standing alone, they are simply words.
Connection is what makes the book a great read.

When you look at this novel, I think the approach it took was one that helped it along. It was not dry and it was not historical alone; it had a springboard of humanity added into the myraid of details that realy made you think about the essence of everything involved. I found that it was written well, that it was detailed, and that finding more information on this event really said just how good this book was when presenting details. Again, however, this is all opinion.

If you want to see exactly what you think of this book, look for snippets that are available throught the internet. I foudn two places where these are easily accessed and I thought this would provide a good clue to what is or isn't a reader's style. Sadly, these cannot be put here because you cannot add that type of stuff - you can tell someone to look, however, and I think that is a good thing. I liked the book and many others did as well but, at the end of the day, it depends on what you want from your reading. This was great but it was a pinpoint that might not be for everyone - i would make certian ti was for me before I leaped in.
That noted 5/5.

Thank you.