"Nothing to Envy" weaves together the stories of adversity and resilience of six residents of Chongin, North Korea's third largest city. Two lovers, who dated secretly for a decade, feared to criticise the regime to each other. A loyal factory worker watched her husband and son die of starvation before escaping the country. In telling the stories of Chongin's residents. she has recreated the lifestyles of North Korean citizens from their interests and concerns to their culture.

Accolades

Winner of BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2010.

Author Biography

Barbar Demick has worked as a staff reported for the Philadelphia Inquirer, covering Wall Street and the presidential elections, among other assignments. Her coverage of the war in Sarajevo won the George Polk Award and the Robert F Kennedy Award, and she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting. She is now a foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, where she has reported from the MIddle East and South Korea. She is currently living in Beijing.