Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for Hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy
by Shibani Mahtani
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Readers' rating:
Published Nov 2023
336 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
Through the eyes of two frontline journalists comes a gripping narrative history of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement centered around a cast of core activists, culminating in the 2019 mass protests and Beijing's brutal crackdown.
Hong Kong was an experiment in governance. Handed back to China in 1997 after 156 years of British rule, it was meant to be a carve-out between hostile systems: a bridge between communism and capitalism, authoritarianism and liberal democracy. "One country, two systems" kept its media free, its courts independent and its protests boisterous, designed also to convince Taiwan of a peaceful solution to Beijing's desire for reunification.
Yet this formulation excluded Hong Kong's own people, their future negotiated by political titans in faraway capitals. In 2019, an ill-conceived law spear-headed by a sycophantic leader pushed millions to take to the streets in one of the most enduring protest movements the world has ever seen. Xi Jinping responded with a draconian national security law that sought not only to end the demonstrations but quash the "problem" of Hong Kongers' identity and desire for freedom.
Reverend Chu, who believed Hong Kong had to carry the spirit of students at Tiananmen Square, saw his silver-haired comrades who birthed the city's modern pro-democracy movement handcuffed and taken from their homes. Tommy, an art student radicalized into throwing Molotov cocktails, watched "braves" like him brutalized by police before his own arrest prompted him to flee. Finn epitomized the decentralized nature of the movement and its internet-fueled victories, but online anonymity couldn't stop his life from unraveling. Gwyneth could predict her eventual fate when she chose to give up her career as a journalist to stand for election as an opposition candidate, and did it anyway.
In Among the Braves, Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin tell the story of Hong Kong's past, and what the sacrifices of its people mean for global democracy's shaky foundation.
"Citizen activists stoutly resist an encroaching tyranny in this powerful and moving debut...Mahtani and McLaughlin weave an exhilarating narrative, full of fear and hope, frenetic improvisation, and terrifying street violence. The result is a gripping account of one of the great political tragedies of our time." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"In this captivating and illuminating examination of activism in Hong Kong, journalists
Mahtani and McLaughlin balance historical context with up-to-the-minute reporting to convey the
current climate in Hong Kong and its global implications...Written with urgency, Among the Braves chronicles the courage and dedication of activists in the face of harsh responses from the pro-Beijing government. As many of the main subjects of the book are currently imprisoned or in exile, Mahtani and McLaughlin's report is an essential look at threats to modern democracy." —Booklist (starred review)
"Compelling and poignant insider tales of China's devastatingly complete anti-democracy actions." —Kirkus Reviews
"All of the fault lines shaping our world converged in the inspiring rise and tragic demise of Hong Kong's protest movement—democracy and authoritarianism, capitalism and technology, nationalism and the individual yearning for liberty and community. In Among the Braves, Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin tell a gripping, propulsive story that puts us inside the harrowing experience of people on the front lines of history, while also showing us the broader context of an increasingly assertive China determined to stamp out dissent. This is the very best kind of journalism—smart, painstaking, empathetic, and beautifully rendered." —Ben Rhodes, author of After The Fall and The World As It Is
"Seamlessly weaving history with the personal stories of brave Hong Kongers fighting to preserve the spirit of their city, Mahtani and McLaughlin deliver a poignant must-read, as they dissect exactly how democracy and freedom are lost." —Kim Ghattas, author of Black Wave and The Secretary
This information about Among the Braves was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Shibani Mahtani is an international investigative correspondent for the Washington Post. She was previously the Post's Hong Kong and Southeast Asia bureau chief and a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal based in Singapore, Yangon, and Chicago. Her Hong Kong coverage was honored with prizes including a Human Rights Press Award for an investigation into police misconduct. She is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Timothy McLaughlin is a prize-winning contributing writer for The Atlantic. Previously he worked for Reuters news agency. His work has also appeared in publications including WIRED, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and Prospect. He has won multiple awards for his Hong Kong coverage, including two Best in Business Awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing, and is a two-time finalist for The Livingston Award for International Reporting. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Mahtani and McLaughlin live in Singapore with their adopted Hong Kong village dog, Bean.
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