"...a vibrant and successful book...Foran has intimate knowledge of the denizens and dramatis personnae of Beijing University..."

— Books in Canada
 

"Foran has written a special book. Bittersweet and beautiful.... We should read this book because it is well written, thoughtful, and because it looks at Tiananmen from within the minds of Beijing intellectuals. Few foreigners have gotten as close to China as Foran has. He reminds us that there are no simple explanations for anything, even tanks, and that there is dignity, beauty and hope in the midst of despair."

— The Globe and Mail
 

"In a graceful and ironic style...[Foran] tells of the lives and hopes of students he grew close to"

— Publisher's Weekly
 

"...[Foran] is candid and funny about his own cultural awkwardness...it is journalism of a high order, cleanly and simply written, yet always suggestive of the profound Chinese drama."

— Maclean's
 

"His sharp-etched personal stories of ordinary people finding the strength to cope with adversity should make it impossible for any reader to ever again consider the Chinese as one indifferentiated mass of humanity."

— Toronto Star
 

"Be warned: this is not your usual China book.... The author gives us portraits of individuals whose lives revolve around, and are fundamentally shaken by the dreadful Turmoil.... All are flesh-and-blood individuals, not faceless masses."

— The Montreal Gazette