if you're thinking about the Peace Corp

books:


	• River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (P.S.) Peter Hessler Harper Perennial, 2006 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 161 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

a masterpiece

I am reading Hessler's new Oracle Bones now, which could be an informative book about China for readers who are not yet well-acquainted with the country. However, I feel that River Town is the much more compelling book, in which the people and place of Fuling come alive much more than the people and place of Beijing do in Oracle Bones. I read an interview with Hessler where he says he wrote River Town in just a few months. It must have been a few really inspired months.

Excellent

OAH (Old Asia Hand, 1968-date) says this is one of the best books on Asia and China ever written. Author does not intrude on the story, but we see and experience his personal development as he grows to understand the language, people and society and gains in personal maturity. It takes more than a 7-day package tour to know a country as the author conclusively proves. Well-written and thought-provoking; highest possible recommendation.

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Well written

I first knew of this author by reading a few of his articles in The NEW YORKER, then I did a quick search and came across this book, which is the only book he's written so far, I believe. I really enjoyed reading this book, it cracked me up a number of times while reading it. First of all, I am a Chinese and been living in the US a little short of 8 years, so I am more or less Americanized and kind of understand how the Americans' thinkings are, for me, I have been on the both sides, I know exactly how an American would react to a Chinese's normal behaviors. Just noticed the author has another book coming out in May, can't wait. I remember a paragraph in JD Salinger's "the catcher in the rye", the idea was if you read a book you really liked, you would hope that the author was your friend with whom you could have a conversation face to face, that's how I felt after reading this book.

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if you're thinking about the Peace Corp

If like me you're mildly flirting with the idea of doing a term with the Peace Corp, this book gives you a good picture of the day-to-day life of a PC volunteer. It sure made me think twice, or at least have a more realistic view of it. Another book that does this is This is Not a Civilization, about a PC volunteer in eastern Europe.

Just Wonderful

I have to say that River Town by Peter Hessler was one of the best travel books I have read in years. While doing research for our book, Travelers' Tales China, I also found Jasper Becker's The Chinese to be a remarkable work of scholarship and research. Grass Soup by Zhang Xianliang is a moving testament to the extraordinary suffering that the human race has endured due to the stupidity and cupidity of others. The present bounty of food and produce that is available in China now is an eloquent testimony to the radical failure of the kind of Communism espoused by Mao.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, page 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

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