Disclaimer- if you don't apprecaite Chinese history and culture, just skip these poosts and go read about lavacid and movies and such.
I'm reading Sons of the Yellow Empooror, by Lynn Pan right now. It's a history of the Chinese diaspora. I have in my library a somewhat extensive collection of books on Chinese culture, history, literature and autobiography. Here then is my list of books the student of China should read with no delay. It is by no means exhaustive since it is confined to books I actually have, and have read. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

1. Wild Swans, by Jung Chang. An autobiography of the lives of the author, her mother and grandmother. Three generations of Chinese women, spanning the greater part of the 20th century. Astounding.
2. Red China Blues, and Jan Wong's China, both by Jan Wong. Jan Wong is a writer for Canada's daily newspaper, the Globe and Mail. She was one of the few Westerners permitted to study in China during the Cultural Revolution. She tells of her life as a "stark-raving Maoist" to her time as a foreign correspondent during the Tiananmen incident. Jan Wong's China is a look at today's China. Both are filled with excellent, insightful writing, and fair doses of humour, as well as glimpses into the darker side of life.
3. Chinese Shadows, by Simon Leys. I found this book for two bucks in a used bookstore, and it turned out to be one of the best books on Maoist China. Written in 1974 by a renowned Sinologist he very adeptly exposes the fallacies and absurdities of a regime that, at the time of its writing, was considered admirable and worthy of emulation by the European leftist academia. The phrase, "Apparently-leftist-deviation-which-is-in-fact-rightist-sabotage" is a perfect example of Leys' ability to pinpoint the bizarre mindset Mao fostered in his people.
4. In Exile from the Land of Snows, by John F. Avedon. This book is actually about Tibet, and the Chinese conquest of it. Required reading for anyone interested in the Tibetan cause.
5. Red Flower of China, by Zhai Zhenhua. She grew up during the '60's and '70's, became a Red Guard, and thus has a first-hand account of the human tragedy that was the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution.
6. Thunder from the East, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Not strictly about China, but rather a look at present-day Asia, its rise and the fallout from the economic meltdown of 1997.

Strangely, there are virtually no autobiographies by Communist Chinese men, at least that I am aware of. I wonder why that is. And yes, there are books I have that didn't make this list. Not because they were pooey, but the list above is for outstanding books.
The Rambling Rustic recommended this book, Surviving on the Gold Mountain, by Ling Huping which actually sounds like it ties in poofectly with the book 'm reading now, so thank you for that.