Chen Hansheng was not only a pioneer of modern Chinese social science, remembered for the villagestudies he organized by teams of researchers in the 1930s. He was also a political operative whosecareer as an underground and aboveground Communist activist spanned the twentieth century andthe globe. This book draws on unique interviews, beginning in 1979, with Chen himself, his family andassociates, along with an exhaustive examination of documents, writings, and archives, to build arounded portrait of Chen, the man, and his world.‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐“Stephen MacKinnon’s lifetime study of eminent social scientist and Communist Chen Hanshengmakes for an absorbing, thrilling, and illuminating read. This product of decades of researching Chen,and of years of discussions with him, MacKinnon shows us how one enterprising and creative scholarbecame dedicated to the cause, worked for it, and then ended his life sad and angry about whatbecame of the Chinese Communist Party in power.”—Hans van de Ven,
