juliettesmith's review
5.0
I am so sad that I’ve finished this trilogy. Peter Hessler writes nonfiction like no other. With every single book I want to go back to China more and more!
fussybritches's review
5.0
This was by far one of the best books I've read in a while. Mr. Hessler's insights into the various areas of China were beyond fascinating and I learned so much about their people and culture. It was interesting to see the country from the vantage point of an integrated American who spoke the language fluently and understood the multi-faceted culture but was still a foreigner.
gpettey19's review
4.0
A slow start, but ultimately a fascinating, human-centered insight on economic growth and urbanization in early 2000s China. Hessler nestles his way into the lives of rural Chinese as they navigate making better lives for themselves and their families in a country that's experienced repeated political and economic overhauls in the recent past. It was interesting to compare cultural similarities and differences between rural Chinese and rural Rwandans, as well as map Chinese influence in Africa in the same period.
What does it mean when the Great Wall becomes a cell phone accessory? Or when computers discs are most useful because they bounce light? Everything was tangled in these parts; there was no distinction between progress and improvisation.
What does it mean when the Great Wall becomes a cell phone accessory? Or when computers discs are most useful because they bounce light? Everything was tangled in these parts; there was no distinction between progress and improvisation.
cristyd's review
5.0
I really enjoy Hessler's writing about China - honest, humorous, descriptive, critical, without being insulting or condescending.