This compelling book provides a vivid first-hand account of the student demonstrations and violent crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Uniquely placed as a Western observer drawn into active participation through Chinese friends in the uprising, Philip J Cunningham offers a remarkable day-by-day account of Beijing students desperately trying to secure the most coveted political real estate in China in the face of ever-more daunting government counter-moves. He brings to life the story of the demonstrations, from the tentative early marches to the huge outpouring of support, from the hunger strikes and jostling for influence among student leaders, to the senseless bloody crackdown. This remarkable testament to a searing month that changed China forever serves witness to the rise and fall of an uprising, capturing the plaintive and lyrical beauty of a dream that endures and continues to haunt the country today.

I: New moon -- In search of the real China -- The new May fourth spirit -- Ten thousand bicycles -- II: Waxing moon -- Hunger strike -- Laying claim to the square -- Looking for Gorbachev -- Working-class heroes -- Rising tide of rebellion -- Everyone an emperor -- Breaking the fast -- III: Waning moon -- Martial law -- Provincial vagabonds -- Egg on the face of Mao -- Tiananmen headquarters -- Radical camp -- Last will and testament -- Clandestine interview -- Going underground -- Midnight rendezvous -- IV: No moon -- Troops are coming -- Of tanks and men -- Eve of destruction -- The sky is crying.