Last night, the newly formed Shanghai Literacy Society held the launch of several books both dealing with the same subject – Shanghai during the war years. Betty Barr is a long term resident of China and well known amongst the expat population here. She has a very interesting story to tell and this, her latest book, tells the story of her early life in an internment camp in Shanghai using her mother’s diary as primary evidence. 
It tells the story of life before the war, during internment and after victory was declared. Betty is married to George Wang and he has a different memory of the war as a Chinese national in Shanghai for the duration of the war. According to his account, those in the internment camp, although surrounded by wire fences and unable to leave, was far more comfortable than the life of a ‘free’ Chinese citizen in Shanghai.
In addition to George and Betty, was a Japanese woman who gave a completely different view of the same scene. Her book is a novel but 
based loosely on the experiences of her family throughout the war in Shanghai, how they lived and what happened after the defeat of the Japanese, how they heard about the unconditional surrender and what they did then. 
It was a fascinating glimpse into the history of Shanghai told by three people who lived it. The number of such people able to tell the human story of this time through personal experience is dwindling. Such books are an essential part of the preserving the history of the city.