This book examines life in China under Communism; it provides a great deal of insight into the workings of the different programs initiated by the Communists in China in order to create economic stability, increase production, and assume a place as a world power.

It graphically shows how the different programs were enacted and how people responded to them. The first changes seem quite slight. The first change is one which everyone feels is good: Young Sansan is delighted to learn that education and school are free. Her parents will no longer have to pay for her education. Then she learns that she must contribute by working on different programs or projects. Although she is reluctant to do so, she begins to work on the first project — a project that seems quite easy. All the students build furnaces for the school.

Once this task is...