Jaime FlorCruz was a student leader in the Philippines when he arrived in 1971 to take a look at Mao‘s “New China”. On the same day, the Marcos government declared a state of emergency and Jaime was stuck — if he returned he could be jailed, so he stayed in China, and ended up being one of the famous Class of ‘77, the first intake of students into prestigious Peking University after a decade of chaos. His classmates included many of the people who have remade China since, including the current premier Li Keqiang, former high-flyer and now imprisoned Bo Xilai and various entrepreneurs, dissidents and scientists. It was the core of the new elite and Jaime was at the center of it. He went on to become one of the top foreign correspondents in China, as bureau chief for both TIME magazine and CNN. The story of how he established himself in China is a unique reflection on the momentous changes that have shaken this country in the past five decades. "A warmly told personal story centred on Peking University's remarkable Class of 1977, and describing the friendship, love and discovery, and a unique journey from the Philippines to China, from life under Marcos and Mao to the momentous changes that have followed." - Linda Jaivin, author of "The Shortest History of China" "Many China hands have written books on China but no one has such remarkable and grounded insights as Jaime FlorCruz. He knows China like no non-Chinese does. He has been a witness to a tremendous transition, and his story is fascinating and uniquely relevant to understanding China." - Gay Talese, former NYT Reporter & best selling author of "The Kingdom and the Power." "Jaime FlorCruz captures the flavor and drama of his own experience in this fascinating land, the look and feel of countryside and campus, and the whole crazy, compelling sweep of China's recent history." - Donald Morrison, former TIME Magazine International Editor "Only a few hours after setting foot in China, Jaime FlorCruz realized his life was about to change inalterably. He went on to serve as the China bureau chief for TIME and later CNN. Mao's wife killed herself? Yesterday, Jaime said. Yet another FlorCruz scoop. This memoir tells us all how he did it." - Ed Gargan, former New York Times correspondent & author of "China's Fate" "The Peking University classmates of Jaime Florcruz gave him a front-row seat in the tumultuous political arena of China's post-Mao era. He rubbed shoulders with the men who would become a premier of China, a dissident in exile, and a politician who fell from grace amidst stunning scandals." - Melinda Liu, Newsweek China correspondent "Very, very few foreigners have lived through half a century of China's almost unimaginable upheavals as Jaime FlorCruz has done. The Class of '77 gives us a living, human, detailed story from within, opening up a period of recent Chinese history as nothing and nobody else could." - Pico Iyer, author of "The Art of Stillness" "Jaime FlorCruz has spent more than four decades in China and understands the country inside out, and this book masterfully tells the story of how he came to grips with the dragon." - Benjamin Lim, The Straits Times, Global Affairs Correspondent "From the Cultural Revolution to the Tiananmen Square uprising, no foreigner has born witness to China's transformation like Jaime FlorCruz. With the insider knowledge of someone who spent most of his life in China and the perspective of an outsider, FlorCruz has produced a stunning memoir like no other." - Barbara Demick, author of Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town "Jimi's amazing personal journey has given him a unique, front-row seat to China's stunning transformation. His entertaining take on modern China, written with a critical, yet loving, eye, provides endless insights into how the country has evolved and where it might be heading." - Adi Ignatius, Editor-in-Chief of Harvard Business Review