Life on the Cusp

The book records the legendary life stories of the first Internet user in China, Mr Wu Weimin. Mr Wu was involved in several most important scientific and technological achievements in modern China, such as the making of the first atom bomb, the launch of the first artificial satellite, the construction and operation of the first Electron-Positron collider, the establishment of the first Internet line in China. The email from Beijing to Switzerland he sent out on August 25, 1986, was officially recognized as the first item of Chinese Internet history. He left China after the Tiananmen Square Incident in 1989 and eventually immigrated to the United States, becoming a physicist at the Fermi National Laboratory.The autobiography records the details of his legendary life stories, from taking pictures with the Chinese leader Mao Zedong, to shaking hands with Deng Xiaoping; from being removed from the Institute of High Energy Physics, to the repealing of his Chinese passport. The story line is full of ups and downs, all very engaging. In that turbulent era, Wu's rich emotional experience and love stories was also a mirror for the Chinese society, with some details comparable to the plots of suspense novels and movies. The book is well illustrated with many pictures, with a simple writing style that flows smoothly. The stories were factual and moving, all too realistic. The author sincerely revealed his true self to the reader, and at the same time faithfully described that period of history, giving the reader a grasp on the true working of history. His comparison of the Eastern and Western cultures, analysis of science and superstition, and interpretation of religion and arts, and his "convergence" theory of social development, are all unique and insightful. This book faithfully tells his professional and personal life on the cusp, which will take readers on a journey to explore true history by ordinary person's stories.