The Turbulent Sea

“A soul-searching sequel to a riveting memoir about wartime China, The Turbulent Sea chronicles the author’s unforgettable ordeal in the crucible of America. At once lyrical and realistic, it is a deep dive into the inner world of a fiercely gentle spirit searching for meaning, and a loving album of friendship, camaraderie, and love.” – Charles N. Li, The Turbulent Sea * Yunte Huang, author of CHARLIE CHAN, Winner of the Edgar Award *“No ordinary sixties coming-of-age story…. evocative… brilliantly crafted… transports us from the prison camps of China, to the slums of Hong Kong, to the beckoning frontiers of President Kennedy’s United States. We suffer with Li… and witness him becoming a bright light of the antiwar movement while cautioning American radicals against the lure of Maoism. Along the way, we meet memorably limned individuals who transform his life—and the course of history.” – Charles N. Li, The Turbulent Sea * Laura Kalman, author of THE LONG REACH OF THE SIXTIES *

Charles Li is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics and former Dean of the Graduate Division (1989-2006) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. An author and editor of numerous linguistics books and articles, Li’s memoir of the first twenty years of his life, The Bitter Sea: Coming of Age in a China before Mao, received wide critical acclaim. The book was chosen by Baruch College of the City University of New York as required reading for the 2010 Freshman Class and was adapted for the stage at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. In 2017, an NPR podcast featured the book. He is married to Katherine Saltzman Li, a UC Professor of Japanese Literature.

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