Easy to read and follow but lacks the emotional story of Wild Swans. ( )

This covers the biographies of the Soon sisters, one of which married Sun Yat-sen, one who married Chiang Kai-shek, and the eldest who married one of the wealthiest men in China and who, through corruption, built that wealth into an even bigger fortune. The sisters all came from immense privilege, and remained remarkably loyal to each other despite vast differences in their political leanings.

This is a fascinating story of a family who remained at the center of power in China for almost a century. ( )

Fängslande historia om familjen Soongs tre döttrar som alla kom att spela stor roll i Kinas och Taiwans 1900-tals historia. Storasyster Ei-Ling, ekonomisk motor och gift med H.H. Kung, premiär- och finansminister under Chiang Kai-shek, mellansyster Ching-ling (den röda systern) med hög ställning i kommunistpartiet och tidigare gift med Sun Yat-sen samt lillasyster May-ling , som hörde hemma i Nationalistpartiet och gifte sig med Chiang Kai-shek ( )

A very good book to read if needing an update on Chinese history. However the story of this family left me completely disinterested. Such horrible people,! Living a very privileged life with no regard for the welfare of their fellow countrymen. All they wanted was power and money. And to think we were taught that Chiang Kai-shek was such a hero...... ( )

This is a highly readable and entertaining book. Well researched and interpreted, the author shows restraint by presenting an unbiased version of a very complex period in China’s history. Reflecting the political climate, I expect the research material was more accessible for the two ‘western’ sisters. Red Sister was a little harder to get to grips with, and her motivations less understood, perhaps due to limitations with information sources.
Well worth reading. ( )