It was like a scene out of a thriller: one morning in April 2012 China's most famous political activista blind self-taught lawyerclimbed over the wall of his heavily guarded home and escaped. For days his whereabouts remained unknown; after he turned up at the American embassy in Beijing a furious round of high-level negotiations finally led to his release and a new life in the United States. Chen Guangcheng is a unique figure on the world stage but his story is even more remarkable than we knew. The son of a poor farmer in rural China blinded by illness when he was an infant Chen was fortunate to survive a difficult childhood. But despite his disability he was determined to educate himself and fight for the rights of his country's poor especially a legion of women who had endured forced sterilizations under the hated ''one child'' policy. Repeatedly harassed beaten and imprisoned by Chinese authorities Chen was ultimately placed under house arrest. After a year of fruitless protest and increasing danger he evaded his captors and fled to freedom. Both a riveting memoir and a revealing portrait of modern China this passionate book tells the story of a man who has never accepted limits and always believed in the power of the human spirit to overcome any obstacle. . Language: English