Description: Weijian Shan's Out of the Gobi is a powerful memoir and commentary that will be one of the most important books on China of our time, one with the potential to re-shape how Americans view China, and how the Chinese view life in America. Shan, a former hard laborer who is now one of Asia's best-known financiers, is thoughtful, observant, eloquent, and brutally honest, making him well-positioned to tell the story of a life that is a microcosm of modern China, and of how, improbably, that life became intertwined with America. Out of the Gobi draws a vivid picture of the raw human energy and the will to succeed against all odds. Shan only finished elementary school when Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution tore his country apart. He was a witness to the brutality and absurdity of Mao's policies during one of the most tumultuous eras in China's history. Exiled to the Gobi Desert at age fifteen and denied schooling for ten years, he endured untold hardships without ever giving up his dream for an education. Shan's improbable journey, from the Gobi to the "People's Republic of Berkeley" and far beyond, is a uniquely American success story--told with a splash of humor, deep insight, and rich and engaging detail.
Brief description: Weijian Shan is chairman and CEO of PAG, a leading private equity firm. Previously, he was a partner at the private equity firm TPG and comanaging partner of TPG-Asia (formerly known as Newbridge Capital), a managing director at JP Morgan, and a professor at the Wharton School. He holds an MA and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco. He is the author of the bestselling memoir Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America.