Weijian Shan'sOut of the Gobiis 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 Gobidraws 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 15 and denied schooling for 10 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.
This powerful and personal perspective on China and America will inform Americans' view of China, humanizing the country, while providing a rare view of America from the prism of a keen foreign observer who lived the American dream.
Says former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen: "Shan's life provides a demonstration of what is possible when China and the United States come together, even by happenstance. It is not only Shan's personal history that makes this book so interesting but also how the stories of China and America merge in just one moment in time to create an inspired individual so unique and driven, and so representative of the true sprits of both countries."
##我會把今天珍藏在心底。聽完瞭一期讓人流淚的隨機波動,讀完瞭單偉建老師不平凡的大半人生,這些珍貴的時刻我會好好的把它們記住,尤其會在灰暗的時候常常溫習,相信一切都會好起來。
##作者言: “人一生能取得多大的成績,取決於得到什麼樣的機會。如果是因為沒有好機會,那無需惋惜。但如果機會降臨時沒有做好準備,那纔該後悔。” 深以為然。 但即使如此, 他的智慧與勤奮完全可以吊打99.99999% 的人。 There's a will there's a way.
##前半部分主要是寫作者上山下鄉期間在內濛古戈壁耕地,燒磚塊,挖土豆,做赤腳醫生等等的經曆,在如此艱苦的條件下作者同時也在不停思考他們付齣的勞動變成無用功的根源,還有如何改進生産力,但種種的努力都無法得到實踐,可見當時政策的盲目性和破壞性之大,不僅浪費瞭一代人的青春(簡直是流放做奴隸),也一定程度上造成瞭教育和文化的斷層,後半部分主要是作者上大學和留學的經曆比較平淡,但和前半部分一起看的話也挺神奇的,作者作為商學院的教授也是根據自己的經曆寫瞭一些關於市場經濟和計劃經濟的思考,但這方麵感覺可以寫的更深入一些
##怎麼說呢…想看怎麼在金融行業做deal的人應該失望瞭。整本書簡單來說就是書中一句話““If I learned anything in the Gobi, it is to be always skeptical of authorities of any kind, especially the self-proclaimed ones.”
##嗟乎, 一個人的妄斷怎可影響韆萬人的命運。
##作者言: “人一生能取得多大的成績,取決於得到什麼樣的機會。如果是因為沒有好機會,那無需惋惜。但如果機會降臨時沒有做好準備,那纔該後悔。” 深以為然。 但即使如此, 他的智慧與勤奮完全可以吊打99.99999% 的人。 There's a will there's a way.
###看書之前不知道作者是什麼來頭。插隊乾活的故事可能大部分那一代人都很類似,但之後抓住一切機會變成新中國第一代伯剋利phd真的很不容易,特彆是考慮到他是小學學曆而且大學學的也是文科的外語,甚至覺得文章裏淡化瞭他的自我努力。然後他在學習之外的一些為人處事也挺值得藉鑒,比如當排球裁判提高存在感,或者是廣結朋友最後到瞭關鍵時刻很用得上。書裏語言雖然淳樸,但是能看齣他一點不驕傲,總是很虛心和感恩
##大老闆的書,坦白說很久沒有讀這樣迴憶錄的書籍瞭,而Out of Gobi更多的是平白口語話的敘述,很難探究其間他對於這種曆史背景的感情,但也可能,作為曆史的一份子,幾十年後其實大概就是這種淡然的心態瞭。 一個同事在amazon書評下說到有趣的一點,單總和聖上幾乎是同齡人,經曆過大抵類似的時代洪流,很多人都會低估這一代人的堅韌。 Shan的職業生涯迴過頭來看真的是非常的先苦後甜,當然沒有在戈壁的睏苦煎熬也沒有後期來到美國後求學時候的勤勉刻苦,後麵的貴人相助和諸多際遇實際也是德配其位的,真的很瞭不起。說起來有的時候Shan群發公司郵件依然會分享一些關於經濟政治的看法,其實很有助益,可一些本地同事會有些不屑一顧,真的很淺薄
##幸虧有下鄉經曆作為鋪墊,流水似的枯燥記敘方式被增色不少,筆者的文筆實在一般.