The Man Who Stayed Behind

Lots of people have derided Rittenberg in this space, most seemingly because of Rittenberg's religious-level belief in communism in his earlier years. Read this book not as a defense of communism (it isn't, at all), but as an intensely personal journal of one life, lived at the core of the PRC, from 1946 to the late 1970s. Rittenberg, now in his mid 80s, gives a unique perspective on the early leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, and the vision, plus the folly, that intertwined with the early years. Whether one believes that he earned his 15+ years of imprisonment or not, no feeling human can fail to empathize with those, including him, who were jailed by the regime. In recent years, the PRC has admitted that the Cultural Revolution was a mistake, and therefore these years have seen a flurry of what's called 'scar literature' in China. Rittenberg's work cover much more than just his years in jail during the Revolution--it provides a remarkably close-up look at the emergent PRC in its first 25 years. Read it without fail if you seek to understand the roots of China today.

Sidney Rittenberg is a truly amazing character, and you must read his story to believe it. It's also one of the most insightful and thorough evaluations of Maoism and the Cultural Revolution, written by someone who believed firmly in those ideals at the time, but came to reexamine and question them as he saw their darker sides. This book is highly recommended for anyone even remotely interested in China, Chinese history, Communism, or just a really well-written autobiography of someone with an extraordinary life.

Anyone who has made seeking truth his or her quest should read this book. With a painful honesty, Rittenberg accounts a sincere believer's failed efforts in pursuing idealism. He does not shun away from the truth that idealism and stupidity were often twins in human history. In fact, "faith" can make one blind and an involuntarily contributor to harm. It took the author a lifetime - including 16 years in the prisons of the system he believed in - to realize this simple truth. An ordinary person might have woken up a lot earlier, but not a believer. Is this faith or stupidity? The reader should draw his or her own conclusion. Nonetheless, what I really want to say is: although his effort in pursing ideals has failed, his life experience is not a waste; we can all learn from his lessons. In this sense he is still a hero, or in classic Chinese terms, a "hero by failure". To the reviewer below who called Rittenberg a "coward" with the "integrity of a worm" I want to ask, could you do better than him in those circumstances - in the bombing and in the prisons? That is a very pointed question. Rittenberg's Chinese name Li Dunbai has been known to me since my childhood during the Cultural Revolution in China, though I never knew him personally, and still don't know him now. In this book it is his candid and thorough accounts of the personal experiences of the familiar history that grab me, from the opening page to the last. Unlike some other bestseller memoirs on the same period of China, such as "Wild Swans," which emphasize the virtue while downplaying the deficits of the protagonists, Rittenberg hides nothing about his own personal weakness and mistakes. Anyone who has gone through the same period knows that we were all participants, no matter how noble or gaudy our motives were, no matter you admit it or not. To deny this and dress up as a pure victim or even a hero is truly a shame. Only by facing our mistakes and failures honestly we can help ourselves.

As an ethnic Chinese grown up in China and having lived in Europe and the US for 17 years, I find this book very readable and highly educational. I immensely admire the courage and candidness of Mr. Sidney Rittenberg in presenting his complete life experience in China, particularly those embarrassing experiences. It is exceptionally rare that an autobiography author does not elevate one's wisdom, ability, and strength, glorify one's success or accomplishments, forget one's own weakness and short-comes, and blame others for failures.The 35 year life experience of Mr. Rittenberg in China is a dramatic odyssey and a unique story, which could only be found in a masterpiece novel. He went to China as a US army soldier equipped with Chinese language capability at the end of World War II, stayed as a UN aid worker, and then worked as an English language expert for Chinese Communist propaganda organs at the proximity of the power center. He witnessed and experienced how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) relentlessly purged itself to preserve its core strength and how the CCP leadership changed from grass-root to self-isolation. Although he worked very hard and tried everything to win the trust and acceptance of the CCP and was a member of the Party, ironically he was groundlessly accused of spying for the US and imprisoned twice for 16 years in total. He married two Chinese women. The first one divorced him during his first imprisonment, but the second waited for him for more than 9 years when he was in jail for the second time. His tour of duty ended with bringing his family to the States shortly after all the false accusation on him was cleared up. This book can be read from several aspects or levels. One can enjoy it as a novel with a moving and amazing story. This is also a documentary of personal witness of Chinese revolution, Cultural Revolution, and astonishing changes in many aspects of China occurred during these 35 years. It clearly describes one's struggle in living in and getting accepted by an alien culture. Furthermore and furthermost, it is a highly educational book on valuable life lessons. Among many valuable life lessons, the following are just a few of such examples:1. We are all educated that there never are too many friends in anyone's life; however, Mr. Rittenberg's first imprisonment tells us good friends may bring us troubles as well. This is such a common experience for many people, yet it is hardly acknowledged anywhere. 2. His second imprisonment could well be avoided if he shined away from many luminescent foci. He was not cunning enough to play the games. But how many of us know where we really belong to, until too late.3. It is pity that the book did not elaborate the advice of his boss and friend, Mei Yi, to him never to accept a chief executive officer position. Although having literally taken this most valuable advice that he got in China and recorded in this book, Mr. Rittenberg might not truly comprehended the full impl

As a former student of Mr. Rittenberg, I first learned of his experiences through his courses. I then read his book, and was more than pleased to find that his book conveys his experiences in a remarkably "real" manner. There is much to learn from this man, whether one reads his book for pleasure or scholastic reasons. I highly recommend it.