At the twilight of the nineteenth century, China sent a detachment of boys to America in order to learn the ways of the West, modernise the antiquated empire, and defend it from foreigners invading its shores. After spending a decade in New England's finest schools, the boys returned home, driven by a pioneering spirit of progress and reform. Their lives in America influenced, not only their thinking, but also their nation's endeavour to become a contemporary world power, an endeavour that resonates powerfully today. Drawing on diaries, letters and other first-person accounts, Fortunate Sons tells a remarkable tale, weaving together the dramas of personal lives with the momentous thrust of a nation reborn. Shedding light on a crucial yet largely unknown period in China's history, Fortunate Sons provides insight into the issues concerning that nation today, from its struggle towards economic supremacy to its fraught relationship with the United States.