North Korea is Orwell's 1984 made reality: it is the only country in the world not connected to the internet; Gone with the Wind is a dangerous banned book; during political rallies spies study your expression to check your sincerity. After the death of the country's great leader Kim Il Sung in 1994 famine descended: people stumbled over dead bodies in the street & ate tree bark to survive. Nothing to Envy weaves together the stories of adversity & resilience of six residents of Chongin North Korea's third largest city. From extensive interviews & with tenacious investigative work Barbara Demick has recreated the concerns culture & lifestyles of North Korean citizens in a gripping narrative & vividly reconstructed the inner workings of this extraordinary & secretive country.