In October 1934, the Chinese Communist Army found itself facing annihilation, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Nationalist soldiers. Rather than surrender, 86,000 Communists embarked on an epic flight to safety. Only thirty were women. Their trek would eventually cover 4,000 miles over 370 days. Under enemy fire they crossed highland swamps, climbed Tibetan peaks, scrambled over chain bridges, and trudged through the sands of the western deserts. Fewer than 10,000 of them survived, but remarkably all of the women lived to tell the tale.
Unbound is an amazing story of love, friendship, and survival written by a new master of adventure narrative.
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"this to me was great to read, much more interesting than any history book. Very uplifting to read of the hardship and resiliency of the time for these women. takes some time to read but in my opinion worth it!"
— Paulette (4 out of 5 stars)
“Fascinating…King, the bestselling author of Skeletons on the Zahara, has done brilliant work bringing the march to life with a plethora of vivid, well-researched details…Unbound is an authoritative account of the Long March, but its evocations of the marchers’ experiences will linger long after the historical details slip from readers’ memories.”
— Richmond Times-Dispatch[An] energetic book.
— Library Journal"Unbound recounts the amazing journey that 30 women and 86,000 men took in an effort to escape Chaing Kai-shek’s advancing soldiers…Threading the narratives of the women’s individual stories, women’s place in China at the time, and the progress of the March with an overall picture of modern Chinese history, King gives readers a unique look at a turning point for [China].”
— Houston Press“A terrific feminist story and a significant document of this incredible human feat.”
— Kirkus Reviews" Fascinating glimpse of an era of modern history about which I know very little. The maps were particularly helpful. "
— Mary, 12/21/2013" I really tried to like this book. I think that I needed to know more about Chinese history going in. "
— Michael, 11/7/2013" nonfiction accounts of women on the long march in China "
— Jackie, 7/3/2012" Fascinating glimpse of an era of modern history about which I know very little. The maps were particularly helpful. "
— Mary, 9/27/2010" I really tried to like this book. I think that I needed to know more about Chinese history going in. "
— Michael, 5/30/2010Dean King is an award-winning author of ten nonfiction books. His writing has appeared in Garden & Gun, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, New York magazine, and the New York Times, among others. He is the chief storyteller in two History Channel documentaries and a producer of its series Hatfields & McCoys: White Lightning. He is an internationally known speaker, having appeared on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, ABC’s World News Tonight, PBS’s American Experience, and at TEDx. For more info, visit DeanHKing.com.
Norman Dietz is a writer, voice-over artist, and audiobook narrator. He has won numerous Earphones Awards and was named one of the fifty “Best Voices of the Century” by AudioFile magazine. He and his late wife, Sandra, transformed an abandoned ice-cream parlor into a playhouse, which served “the world’s best hot fudge sundaes” before and after performances. The founder of Theatre in the Works, he lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.