PRISONER OF THE STATE The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang

The late Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang has provided an insider's perspective on the secretive Chinese government in the 1980s. The memoir is a unique event in the publishing industry, but some background knowledge is essential to fully grasp its import. This is especially true with the audio version as the listener is unlikely to stop to look up a historical event or person. Also, while the reading performance is adequate and appropriate to the material, it is a spare production that calls out for, at a minimum, a second reader to voice the chapter introductions. Focusing on the protests in Tiananmen Square, the title describes the early days of China's economic rebirth, along with its continued political repression. Prior to being put under house arrest, Zhao Ziyang was premier and then general secretary of the Communist Party in China. He secretly recorded the memoir on tape cassettes. D.A. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2009]