More than fifteen years after the fall of the Soviet Union, China is engaged in the largest experiment in authoritarianism in the world. By launching market reforms while continuing to restrict political freedom, the Chinese Communist Party has challenged the Western assumption that economic growth must lead to political liberalization - an assumption at the core of UK and American foreign policy.

At the same time, the struggle for democratic change is reaching a crescendo, marking a moment in the history of modern China as uncertain and consequential as the rise of Mao's cult of personality, or the run-up to the Tiananmen Square massacre. From the booming cities of Beijing and Shanghai to the rural communities of the vast countryside, this ground-breaking book introduces us to some of the courageous people who are dedicated to building a more democratic China despite the dangers they face in doing so.

This is a book of individual testimonies that seeks to answer one of the most pressing questions of our age: will China become a democracy, a dictatorship, or something in between - and how will this outcome for China affect not only the lives of its population, but the rest of the world?

Written by one of the leading China correspondents of his generation, Out of Mao's Shadow takes us inside the battle for China's soul and into the lives of individuals struggling to come to terms with the nation's past, and to take control of its future.