China Mountain

Growing up in rural China during Mao's Cultural Revolution, Da Chen was part Horatio Alger, part Holden Caulfeld, befriending both a gang of young thugs, as well as an elegant, older Chinese woman who teaches him English - and opens the door to a new life. Chen's remarkable story of triumph is filled with the universal qualities that distinguish the very best memoirs as it masterfully recounts the concerns of childhood that transcend both time and place.

Joe Mitchell and his family have lived in China off and on for a total of seven years beginning in 1993. During three of those years they lived on a one acre property with a minority Nosu family. This true, first person account is alive with stories of their lives there and the friendships they enjoyed.