I've only just started this book so I'll wait 'til it's done to make my judgements. So far though I'm doubting that this is the book to help me understand the events at Tiananmen Square in June 1989.

This is the worst kind of non-fiction book, published purely as a means to cash in on a tragic international event. We are supplied with Salisbury's diary entries during the period of May-June 1989 while he was China for a television project. As far as I can tell he had almost no first-hand experience of the unfolding violence at Tiananmen. What he does have is rather a strong tendency to name-drop high ranking Chinese officials just for the association. As a diary of course it's going to be personally bias. That's what diaries are. But he offers no unique insight. I struggle to be sympathetic to his accounting of events as the streets become deserted and gunshots blaze and he complains about the hotel service.

RELEASE NOTES:

Released on train. One person fondled it but left it behind. Hopefully it had better luck on the return trip from the city.