美国著名学者、畅销书《毛泽东传》以及《我与中国》作者罗斯·特里尔的推荐语:

1.他从中国近代史的画面中看见空白点，阅读闲书时就像是一个从一大堆美丽碎屑中淘宝的人。

He finds something missing in the picture of recent Chinese history. Idling with books, he is like a magpie pouncing on beautiful bits of glass amidst an unpromising heap.

2.他与当今流行的美国文学写作手法刚好相反，以小见大、推己及人，而不是把历史的大事件，全都浓缩化解为个人的小叙述。

Moving from the small to the large, his way is the opposite of the current fashion in American literary writing, where large events shrink into personal cameos.

3.他无力改变这个世界，却可以通过个人的完整一致来整合混乱，用备受训练的头脑，在书中找寻到意义和慰藉。

Zhu cannot change the world, but he can bind up the confusion with a personal unity. The cultivated mind in books finds meanings that comfort and satisfy.

4.胜利不是外部的，仅属于一个备有完好主权的头脑。但这恰是一个非同小可的胜利。

The triumphs are not external but those of a sovereign mind. It is not a small victory.