Ge Xiong
'The war not only escalated like a raging fire and outpaced our run, but also tripled the number of refugees running for their lives and enduring unimaginable suffering.'-Ge Xiong describes his experience in this extremely moving story.More than a century after the Hmong fled atrocities in southern China, they became trapped in a long civil war in Laos and were involved in more than a decade-long alliance with the United States, fighting against the Communists’ expansion in Indochina during the Vietnam War. The Hmong who sided with the United States in the war had faced two major impacts. First, the war had caused unimaginable suffering, a great loss of lives, and a dramatic effect on their natural way of life. Second, after the war, those who managed to escape to Thailand had felt their future was in limbo, while those left behind faced starvation, mass massacres, and persecution.In A World Without Boundaries, Xiong weaves descriptive details of haunting and vivid accounts of the suffering of a people in a social and political culture that not only perpetuated nepotism, corruption, and wars, but also fostered an inequality among ethnicities, genders, and social economic castes. It is a story of acts of violence, bloodshed, and heartbreak, of love and sacrifice, and above all, of a people who continue to endure many difficulties, yet strive to achieve a better life in an increasingly complex world after they have lost everything.'This background gives Ge Xiong a very special and authentic perspective that combines with an impressive talent for writing and laying out the story of his people. He, himself, is an extraordinary example of an extraordinary people. 'A World Without Boundaries' is an extraordinary account of the Hmong people in America which should be a part of every community and academic library collection in the country for the benefit of present and future generations of readers.'
