{"product_id":"red-roulette-9781398510388","title":"Red Roulette","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'THE BOOK CHINA DOESN'T WANT YOU TO READ' CNN\u003cbr\u003e 'READS LIKE A THRILLER' \u003ci\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e, BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In the headline-making and bestselling tradition of Bill Browder’s \u003ci\u003eFreezing Order\u003c\/i\u003e comes a unique and incendiary memoir from an entrepreneur who rose to the zenith of power and money in 21st century China and whose wife was disappeared - and then mysteriously reappeared four years later on the eve of \u003ci\u003eRed Roulette’s \u003c\/i\u003epublication and global media coverage about it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As Desmond Shum was growing up impoverished in China, he vowed his life would be different. Through hard work and sheer tenacity, he earned an American college degree and returned to his native country to establish himself in business. There, he met his future wife, the highly intelligent and equally ambitious Whitney Duan who was determined to make her mark within China’s male-dominated society. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eThe book China doesn’t want you to read\u003c\/b\u003e.' * CNN *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003ePowerful and disturbing\u003c\/b\u003e…The Chinese government will not be happy with this book....Rarely has anyone in modern China been brave enough to violate its oppressive code of silence and give an honest first-hand account of what \u003ci\u003ereally \u003c\/i\u003egoes on in the corridors of power.' -- Bill Browder, author of Freezing Order\u003cbr\u003e'The book is full of \u003cb\u003efabulous titbits\u003c\/b\u003e... It was a period of so much scheming that the Beijing Hotel employed two full-time coordinators to stagger guests so as to prevent inconvenient encounters. It’s this level of detail on Beijing’s inner workings that has clearly spooked the communist high command. Shum’s recollections are still deeply embarrassing for the Chinese Communist Party, making this memoir \u003cb\u003ea singular, highly readable insider account\u003c\/b\u003e of the most secretive of global powers.' -- Cindy Yu * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eThe machine was right to be worried\u003c\/b\u003e. Large scandals of the recent past are revisited in \u003ci\u003eRed Roulette\u003c\/i\u003e… [The book] details an elite China built on secrets and fear, in which family ties are one of the only reliable bonds of trust.' -- David Rennie * The Economist *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003ci\u003eRed Roulette\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cb\u003epulls back the curtain on the sordid world of the Communist aristrocracy\u003c\/b\u003e: how they operate, what drives them and what it means to rise and fall in their regime.' -- Juliet Samuel * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e'Offers a rare peek into the luxe lifestyles of China’s elites…\u003cb\u003ea vivid portrait\u003c\/b\u003e.' * Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003e'A\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003erare alternative to China’s tightly controlled, state-sponsored narratives. In his book, Shum poses an urgent question: \"What type of system allows for extra-legal kidnappings of the type that befell Whitney Duan?\"' * Bloomberg *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003ci\u003eRed Roulette\u003c\/i\u003e was already shaping up as \u003cb\u003ea must-read\u003c\/b\u003e account of corruption at the highest levels of the Chinese Communist Party. But the sudden reemergence last week of Whitney Duan, Shum’s former wife, four years after disappearing into apparent arbitrary detention in Beijing, has made the book a news story.' * Politico, China Watcher *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003ci\u003eRed Roulette \u003c\/i\u003eis\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eeverything those who follow China have been waiting for\u003c\/b\u003e: a deeply personal epic that reveals the idealism, ecstasy and avarice of post-Deng Xiaoping China…There simply isn't another inside history of today's Chinese leadership like this one. If it spawns a new genre of Chinese personal histories - as I hope it will - \u003ci\u003eRed Roulette\u003c\/i\u003e will remain the classic of its category. Desmond Shum’s book is \u003cb\u003eriveting, moving and dangerous\u003c\/b\u003e.' -- Matt Pottinger, former US Deputy National Security Advisor\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eA rare inside peek\u003c\/b\u003e at the cossetted Chinese elite who parlay their connections with Politburo members into billions. This is a world of Château Lafite, Rolls Royces and $100 million yachts, where friendships are strictly transactional.  Although the book can be fun and gossipy, it's also poignant, and, ultimately, we come away with \u003cb\u003erich insights\u003c\/b\u003e into the workings of the Chinese Communist Party and the billionaires it has spawned.' -- Barbara Demick, former Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eGripping…sensational…rich, nuanced\u003c\/b\u003e, and helped change my mind about much that I thought I understood about China.' -- David Barboza * The Wire *\u003cbr\u003e'A deliberative, slow-building, \u003cb\u003esuspenseful narrative\u003c\/b\u003e that reveals numerous insights about the mechanics of power and greed… Observers of contemporary Chinese affairs, consistently intriguing and murky territory, will find much to interest them here. A \u003cb\u003eriveting\u003c\/b\u003e look inside \"the roulette-like political environment of the New China\".' * Kirkus (starred review) *\u003cbr\u003e'Students of Chinese politics and business will appreciate Shum’s personal narrative of China’s turbulent economic rise; this book deserves a wide audience.' * Library Journal *\u003cbr\u003e'[The book that shows] why China’s billionaires are disappearing off the streets. Is this outspoken tycoon the next target to fall?' * 60 Minutes (Australia) *\u003cbr\u003e'One of the very few insider accounts we have of how things get done at the top in China... It’s also \u003cb\u003every well written\u003c\/b\u003e... And it \u003cb\u003ewould make a tremendous movie\u003c\/b\u003e about wealth, power and oppression in China. It’s a shame that, thanks to that same power and oppression, no one in Hollywood will ever have the guts to make it.' * Foreign Policy *\u003cbr\u003e'A memoir that shows how the Chinese government keeps business in line - and what will happen when businesspeople overstep... \u003ci\u003eRed Roulette\u003c\/i\u003e shows how government officials keep the rules fuzzy and the threat of a crackdown ever present.' * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003e'Shum knew he was picking a fight with the CCP the minute he decided to write \u003ci\u003eRed Roulette\u003c\/i\u003e and is aware he is now a marked man - he has reviewed his will and made sure his affairs are in order. \"This is my David and Goliath fight,\" he says. \"Except it’s Goliath times a million.\"' * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003ci\u003eRed Roulette \u003c\/i\u003eis quickly shaping up to be\u003cb\u003e the new must-read\u003c\/b\u003e among observers of Chinese elite politics... A \u003cb\u003evivid portrait\u003c\/b\u003e of the splashy lifestyles of China’s business and political elites... Shum deploys his piquant sense of detail and offers a rare glimpse into the webs and knots of China’s political and business royalty.' * Diplomat *","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48866630664535,"sku":"9781398510388","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781398510388.jpg?v=1722279544","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/red-roulette-9781398510388","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}