The man on Mao's right from Harvard yard to Tiananmen Square, my life inside China's Foreign Ministry

Summary: Having served Chairman Mao and the Communist leadership for two decades, and having become a key figure in China's foreign policy, Ji Chaozhu now provides a detailed account of the personalities and events that shaped today's People's Republic. Nine-year-old Ji and his family fled Japanese invaders to America in the late 1930s. Ji came of age in New York's East Village and attended Harvard University. But in 1950, he felt driven to volunteer to serve China in the Korean War. His mastery of the English language and American culture launched his improbable career, eventually winning him the role of English interpreter for China's two top leaders: Premier Zhou Enlai and Party Chairman Mao Zedong. With a unique blend of Chinese insight and American candor, Ji paints insightful portraits of the architects of modern China. Today, he says, "The Chinese know America better than the Americans know China. The risk is that we misperceive each other."