Yet Pan's book is not a simplistic portrayal of two Chinas divided into rich and poor; instead, the author takes a deep look at the Communist Party's reach across society, from lawyers to factory workers to peasants.

The book, divided into three compelling parts, starts with the funeral of Zhang Ziyang, the much-admired former Premier whose sympathy for the student protesters of Tiananmen Square led to his downfall, and for whom thousands of mourners risk punishment to pay their respects.

Out of Mao's Shadow first goes on to examine people attempting to uncover details of past tragedies like the Cultural Revolution and the less-famous Anti-Rightist Campaign. Then Pan details how the Party has maintained its control and illustrates the plight of victims of China's economic boom. The book closes with a look at people fighting local government injustices against the poor such as the weiquan (rights defense) lawyers.

It is this final part that provides the most compelling stories. In one of them, the editor-in-chief of China's best-known newspaper The Southern Metropolis Daily pushes the limits of government censorship as far as he can in exposing government wrongs. The murder of a university graduate by police in a shourong station, where undesirables are detained and returned to their hometowns, becomes a personal crusade for him and ultimately brings about a momentous state policy change but also his career derailment.

Another is Beijing surgeon Jiang Yanyong, who was acclaimed as a public hero, albeit reluctantly by the Party, for exposing the 2003 SARS outbreak. But when Jiang uses his fame to call for state acknowledgement of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, he is imprisoned and banned from travelling overseas.

While such injustices and cover-ups, like the government's attempt to hide the SARS outbreak from the public, are not unknown, Pan's profiles reveal vividly how widespread and systematic these problems are.

There are two main points from Pan: the rise in living standards and incomes will not automatically lead to democratization; and some Chinese still dare to stand up for their rights, in spite of the Party's iron rule. Unfortunately, the former seems to be prevailing over the latter.

Although China is modernizing, this process is often gradual and ineffectual, costing some citizens' freedom. The Communist Party is still firmly in charge, but as Pan shows, a few brave souls are nonetheless willing to risk lives and careers to make their voices heard.