The Last Emperor

An interesting biography about what was surely one of the most fascinating lives of the twentieth century. Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China, was born into ridiculous privilege and almost worshipped as a child. He was de-throned when China became a republic, became a "puppet" emperor for the Japanese in Manchukuo, was captured by the Soviets at the end of WW2 and then imprisoned and "re-educated" by Chinese Communists under Mao. His story was therefore a history of China - albeit from a very limited point of view.