With vivid firsthand descriptions of Asia’s most cosmopolitan city from the 1920s to the 1950s, this recollection chronicles Liliane Willens' life and trials in Shanghai as China collapsed under the weight of foreign invaders and civil war. Engaging and often humorous, this unique memoir relates Willens' experiences as a Jewish Russian living in early Communist China. "Willens relates this amazing story with grace and pleasing humor."  —Marcia R. Ristaino, author, Port of Last Resort "Willens' story is compelling to all generations. Now that China has risen onto the world stage, her firsthand experience is more relevant than in any prior generation to understanding how Chinese and Western views can both clash and coalesce."  —Nien Cheng, author, Life and Death in Shanghai Liliane Willens is a former professor at Boston College and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Now retired, she lectures on China and Old Shanghai. She lives in Washington, DC.