No Wall Too High | One Man’s Daring Escape from Mao’s Darkest Prison by Xu Hongci recounts the authors incredible journey escaping a Chinese labor camp. Hongci was unjustly imprisoned after the spring of 1957, and despite the horrific conditions and terrible odds, he was determined to escape. He failed three times before finally succeeding in 1972.
The Killing Wind | A Chinese County’s Descent into Madness during the Cultural Revolution by Tan Hecheng investigates the Daoxian massacre during China’s Cultural Revolution. The book is a poignant meditation on memory, moral culpability, and the failure of the Chinese government to come to terms with the crimes of the Maoist era.
A Time of Scandal | Charles R. Forbes, Warren G. Harding, and the Making of the Veterans Bureau by Rosemary Stevens re-examines the scandal-plagues Harding administration during the creation of the Veterans Bureau. She explores how Forbes’s rise and fall in Washington illuminates President Harding’s efforts to bring business efficiency to government.
Tibet in Agony | Lhasa 1959 by Jianglin Li looks back on the Chinese governments militaristic repression of a popular uprising in Tibet’s capital. Sifting facts from the distortions of propaganda and partisan politics, the author reconstructs a chronology of events that lays to rest lingering questions about what happened in those fate-filled days and why.
Tong Wars | The Untold Story of Vice, Money, and Murder in New York’s Chinatown by Scott D. Seligman provides a definitive look at more than 30 years of violence in this fascinating and nuanced examination of Manhattan’s Chinatown. Seligman’s account roars through three decades of turmoil, with characters ranging from gangsters and drug lords to reformers and do-gooders to judges, prosecutors, cops, and pols of every stripe and color.
Speaking Freely | My Life in Publishing and Human Rights by Robert L. Bernstein is the author’s memoir of his fascinating career in publishing, as well as his active roll in the Human Rights movement. In a book sure to be savored by anyone who has worked in the publishing industry, fought for human rights, or wondered how Theodor Geisel became Dr. Seuss, Speaking Freely beautifully captures a bygone era in the book industry and the first crucial years of a worldwide movement to protect free speech and challenge tyranny around the globe.
Harry and Arthur | Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World by Lawrence J. Haas explains how Vice President Harry Truman and Senator Arthur Vandenberg, the Republican leader on foreign policy, inherited a world in turmoil after Franklin Roosevelt’s death in April of 1945. With Europe flattened and the Soviets emerging as America’s new adversary, President Truman and Senator Vandenberg built a tight, bipartisan partnership at a bitterly partisan time to craft a dramatic new foreign policy through which the United States stepped boldly onto the world stage to protect its friends, confront its enemies, and promote freedom.
For the Love of Wine | My Odyssey through the World’s Most Ancient Wine Culture by Alice Feiring is a journey of exploration and delight in the country of Georgia. From Tbilisi to Batumi, Feiring meets winemakers, bishops, farmers, artists, and silk spinners. She feasts, toasts, and collects recipes. She encounters the thriving qvevri craftspeople of the countryside, wild grape hunters, and even Stalin’s last winemaker while plumbing the depths of this tiny country’s love for its wines.
The Most Wanted Man in China | My Journey from Scientist to Enemy of the State by Fang Lizhi is a brilliant memoir of a Chinese astrophysicist who challenged the authority of Communist China. His story, told with vivid detail and disarming humor, is a testament to the importance of remaining true to one’s principles in an unprincipled time and place.
The Next America | Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown by Paul Taylor looks into the future dynamics of America’s generational society. Huge generation gaps have opened up in our political and social values, our economic well-being, our family structure, our gender norms, our religious affiliation, and our technology use.
Peter and Amy Bernstein founded Bernstein Literary Agency in 2009. For over two decades, we have worked with over 100 brilliant authors around the globe and across a gamut of subjects to get their books published, and their stories told. We typically work on non-fiction projects, but we have helped bring many fiction books, children’s books, and the occasional cookbook to market. We work with authors in all stages of their careers, from experienced, award-winning, and bestselling ones to debut writers ready to take on the world.
Amitav Acharya
Esther Allen
Gerard Araud
Chris Bohjalian
Andrew Scott Cooper
Vincent Coppola
Eva Dou
Caldwell B., Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
Bruce Falconer
Gillian Lipton
Sven Steinmo
Robert Suettinger
Tanzina Vega
Olajide Williams
Dalena Wright