From the acclaimed author of River Town comes a rare portrait, both intimate and epic, of twenty-first-century China as it opens its doors to the outside world.
A century ago, outsiders saw Chinaas a place where nothing ever changes. Today the coun-try has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. That sense of time--the contrast between past and present, and the rhythms that emerge in a vast, ever-evolving country--is brilliantly illuminated by Peter Hessler in Oracle Bones, a book that explores the human side of China's transformation.
Hessler tells the story of modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world as seen through the lives of a handful of ordinary people. In addition to the author, an American writer living in Beijing, the narrative follows Polat, a member of a forgotten ethnic minority, who moves to the United States in searchof freedom; William Jefferson Foster, who grew up in an illiterate family and becomes a teacher; Emily, a migrant factory worker in a city without a past; and Chen Mengjia, a scholar of oracle-bone inscriptions, the earliest known writing in East Asia, and a man whosetragic story has been lost since the Cultural Revolution. All are migrants, emigrants, or wanderers who find themselves far from home, their lives dramatically changed by historical forces they are struggling to understand.
Peter Hessler excavates the past and puts a remarkable human face on the history he uncovers. In a narrative that gracefully moves between the ancient and the present, the East and the West, Hessler captures the soul of a country that is undergoing a momentous change before our eyes.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
£ 11.88
From U.S.A. to United Kingdom
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0060826584-new
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0060826584xvz189zvxnew
Book Description Condition: new. First Edition, 1st Printing. Book is in NEW condition. Satisfaction Guaranteed! Fast Customer Service!!. Seller Inventory # PSN0060826584
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0060826584
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0060826584
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0060826584
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0060826584
Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.9. Seller Inventory # Q-0060826584