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Mao's Last Dancer
Mao's Last Dancer
Nov 19, 2024 3:30 AM

Author:Li Cunxin

Mao's Last Dancer

Raised in a desperately poor village during the height of China's Cultural Revolution, Li Cunxin's childhood revolved around the commune, his family and Chairman Mao's Little Red Book.

Until, that is, Madame Mao's cultural delegates came in search of young peasants to study ballet at the academy in Beijing and he was thrust into a completely unfamiliar world.

When a trip to Texas as part of a rare cultural exchange opened his eyes to life and love beyond China's borders, he defected to the United States in an extraordinary and dramatic tale of Cold War intrigue.

Told in his own distinctive voice, this is Li's inspirational story of how he came to be Mao's last dancer, and one of the world's greatest ballet dancers.

Reviews

An extraordinary rags to riches story

—— Mail on Sunday

A terrific read...packed full of self-deprecating humour...refreshingly free from self-pity

—— Classic FM magazine

An emotional rags to riches story

—— Sunday Times

Taking us through his quirky view on life, including fashion, diets and, er, sweetshops this book is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud.

—— Woman magazine

In between the adolescent porn tales and the hilarious diarrhoea anecdotes, he is funny and acute and full of ideas.

—— Private Eye

Snap it up, pwonto.

—— London Lite

It's impossible to deny he's the most entertaining interviewer.

—— Times Educational Supplement

Irreverent and witty . . . hilarious . . . He explores everything - from diets to sweetshops and sex to pets, with all his customary lasciviousness and self-deprecatory humour.

—— Living Edge

Splendidly entertaining, reflecting on everything from eating a loaf to Shintoism and...sex.

—— Bournemouth Daily Echo

There are . . . completely honest admissions about his drinking, and laugh-out-loud accounts of his various fashion errors . . . Enjoy gleefully politically incorrect posturing and plain old-fashioned entertainment.

—— The Resident

Clapton reveals all in this unflinching confessional.

—— Independent

A powerfully honest and very moving insight into the life of a rock legend

—— The Herald (Glasgow)

Clapton bares his soul. Fascinating. It's an absorbing read, like you've been granted access to a mind finally coming to terms with itself.

—— The Sunday Tribune (Ireland)

Difficult to put down

—— Sunday Times

Clapton provides an orderly account of life in which all other considerations are secondary to the frequently selfish needs of The Artist'

—— Guardian

Gold-plated tales of sex, drink, drugs and fame and moments of musical incandescence.

—— Observer Music Monthly

A warm portrait

—— FT Magazine

A harrowing and searingly honest book about the unreal rock star life.

—— Daily Express

Clapton lays bare his life story in this witty but also painfully honest autobiography. Compelling and accomplished.

—— Sunday Express

A painfully honest insider's account of an age all too often portrayed as one long party

—— Daily Mail

A glorious rock history.

—— New York Post

This book does what many rock historians couldn't: It debunks the legend...puts a lie to the glamour of what it means to be a rock star.

—— Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

Strong stuff. Clapton reveals its author's journey to self-acceptance and manhood. Anyone who cares about the man and his music will want to take the trip with him.

—— Anthony DcCurtis, Rolling Stone

Clapton is honest...even searing and often witty, with a hard-won survivor's humor...an honorable badge of a book.

—— Stephen King, New York Times Book Review

Riveting

—— Boston Herald

An even, unblinking sensibility defines the author's voice.

—— New York Times

An unsparing self-portrait.

—— USA Today

Both the youthful excesses and the current calm state are narrated with an engaging tone that nudges Clapton's story ahead of other rock'n'roll memoirs.

—— Publisher’s Weekly

Clapton is a confessional, an addiction memoir, and a glorious rock history rolled into one, with a smidgeon of guilt and, ultimately redemption thrown in for good measure.

—— New York Post

Clapton fills in many gray areas, recounting his highs and lows with a thoughtfulness often lacking rock memoirs.Methodically he whittles away at the larger-than-life rock god until a vulnerable, messed-up mortal emerges...Clapton is an absorbing tale of artistry, decadence and redemption.It's also an important reminder of the guitarist's imprint on rock music, as a sideman, solo artist and bandleader.Not bad for a blues snob from Surrey.

—— Los Angeles Times

Clapton: The Autobiography does what many rock historians couldn't: It debunks the legend, de-mythologizes one of the most mythologized electric guitarists ever, puts a lie to the glamour of what is means to be a rock star...It's a cautionary tale that spills over into tragedy several times as love, lives and talents are all wasted.

—— Chicago Tribune

Like the bluesmen who inspired him, Clapton has his share of scars...his compelling memoir is... a soulful performance.

—— People

Charming and surprisingly candid.

—— Entertainment Weekly

Absolutely brilliant

—— Daily Express
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