'Appalling, brave and funny . you cannot do better than to read this book' Mail on Sunday Raised in a desperately poor village during the height of China's Cultural Revolution, Li Cunxin's childhood revolved around the commune, his family and Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. Until, that is, Madame Mao's cultural delegates came in search of young peasants to study ballet at the academy in Beijing and he was thrust into an unfamiliar world. With courage and determination, Li set out on a new path that would open his eyes to life and love beyond China's borders. Told in his own distinctive voice, this is Li's extraordinary and inspiring story of how he strove for brilliance and became Mao's last dancer. 'His vivid descriptions of life at home, surviving on family love and dried yams, and of the harsh regime, make riveting reading' Guardian ' Mao's Last Dancer is a modern fairy-tale. Li Cunxin's story is a breathtaking indictment of brute Communism, told with great honesty' Kate Adie.