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05/28/2008: "Thursday: Spring Street Discovery Speaker Series"

Sidney Rittenberg, author of “The Man Who Stayed Behind” Will be interviewed at the the new, monthly Spring Street Discovery Speaker Series will debut in Friday Harbor at Pelindaba Downtown – May 29 at 7:00pm.

The series will bring people who have achieved great things to speak with students who will have a chance to interview, question and talk with them about what they did, how they did it, and what they might do differently next time.

Admission is free and all interested island students and adults are cordially invited!

Come and meet the most amazing man you’ll ever meet, a personal friend to all of China’s leaders from Mao (who he joined in the Caves of Yunan, and who then sent him to sixteen years in solitary confinement) to Hu Jintao, today’s president.

Perhaps the most famous American in China, and the first American to join the Chinese Communist Party (no longer a member), today Sidney lives between Beijing and Fox Island, spending all of his time helping bridge the gap between these two countries.

What, you didn’t think of this path when wondering what to do with your life? Come and learn how Sidney made his choices, and how they led to the most fascinating of lives.

''He's an enthusiastic, lovely, sensitive friend. I trust this former Communist implicitly.'' – Mike Wallace, CBS’ 60 Minutes.

''Sid Rittenberg is the most fascinating individual I've ever met.'' – Bill Owens, Past CEO, Nortel and Vice Chair, (Pentagon) Joint Chiefs of Staff.

''What you get with Sidney is not only his contacts, but also his understanding of the way [the Chinese] think and work, which is invaluable.'' Mark Anderson, from the New York Times, “A Long March From Maoism to Microsoft” 12.05.2004

The Discovery Series is proudly sponsored by the Spring Street International School.
Students from all schools are encouraged to attend. Adults are welcome, too.

Next Up: Christina Orchid, James Beard Award-Winning Chef, on June 19th.




Sidney Rittenberg has known every Chinese leader of his generation: Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, the notorious Gang of Four, Deng Xiaoping, and the present president and premier.

The Army trained Sidney in Chinese Studies during World War II, and sent him to China. He later joined the UN Relief Program, met and formed a friendship with Zhou Enlai, and in 1946 accepted the invitation to help train Chinese journalists working in English. He became a leading translator for the works of Mao Zedong, and was the only American citizen accepted into the Chinese Communist Party, until the Cultural Revolution.

In China, Sidney found Yulin, his dream girl and lifetime partner; she has been for 48 years the source of his happiness and the strength behind his achievements.

Sixteen of Sidney's 35 years in China were spent as a prisoner in solitary confinement on charges of being an American spy. He was freed in 1977 and declared a true friend of China. His family became a myth and a legend, giving them easy entre to China's leaders - a great advantage for their consulting work.

As consultants, Sidney and Yulin have helped clients such as Intel, Nextel, Levi Strauss, Teledesic, and ICO, as well as Dan Rather and Sidney's close friends, Mike Wallace and the Reverend Billy Graham.
Sidney has appeared on virtually every major TV and radio comment program, and frequently gives seminars on the China business. He has been a professor of History at the University of North Carolina, where an endowed chair has been announced in his honor. He is currently a visiting professor of China Studies at Pacific Lutheran University.

Sidney's 35 years in China are chronicled in The Man Who Stayed Behind, a book Sidney co-authored with senior Wall Street Journal writer Amanda Bennett.