Peter hesslers new book country driving is one of those mirrors. Peter hessler, hessler has a marvelous sense of the intonations and gestures that give life to the moment. A journey through china from farm to factory harper, 2010, 438 pages peter hessler, staff writer at the new yorker and its beijing correspondent from 2000 to 2007, has become one of the most popular and fascinating documentarians of the vast economic and cultural changes that have come to china in recent years. Country driving begins with hesslers 7,000mile trip across northern china, following the great wall, from the east china sea to the tibetan plateau. Traditional chinese edition of national geographics peter hesslers country driving. A beijing correspondent for the new yorker, peter hessler studied english literature at princeton and oxford before heading to china as a peace corps volunteer in 1996 and his experience teaching english there has so far inspired two critically acclaimed books. A journey from farm to factory 2010, is a record of hesslers journeys driving a rented car from rural northern chinese counties to the factory towns of southern china, and the significant economic and industrial growth taking place there.
He is the author of river town, which won the kiriyama book prize, oracle bones, which was a finalist for the national book award, country driving, and strange stones. Author interview about the book peter hessler, whom the wall street journal calls one of the western worlds most thoughtful. Hessler presents three complementary portraits of the country in transition. Hessler has a marvelous sense of the intonations and gestures that give life to the moment. He won the 2008 national magazine award for excellence in reporting, and he was named a macarthur fellow in 2011. Country driving is a wonderful book about china that also happens to be a terrific book about the human race. Its an account of hesslers experiences driving a rental car through the country, first following the great wall to the desolate gansu province, then to a rural village north of beijing, and finally, to the zhejiang in south, the land of emerging factories. Country driving is sprinkled with hesslers humorous encounters with a stateowned car rental company.
Peter hesslers new book, country driving, shines a brilliant light onto these vast expanses. Over the span of six years, hessler observes in detail the effects of this change, which range from shifts in diet and health, to a growing interest in religion, to new tensions within the local branch of the communist party. Hessler describes insane driving conditions or guanxi, the chinese form of networking, where business men and political officials lavish gifts in exchange for. In the factory, the third part of country driving, hessler turns his attention to urban china.
Peter hessler, author of country driving in 2002, he rented a house in a remote and traditional village nestled along the great wall. And country driving tracks the movement of the nation as a whole. The rental agent insists that he return the vehicle with exactly the amount of gas he. He is also a contributing writer for national geographic. Oracle bones, which was a finalist for the national book award. In country driving, which has just been longlisted. Its an account of hesslers experiences driving a rental car through the country, first following the. Told with his characteristic blend of empathy, insight, and selfdeprecating humor. My friends told told me i should have started the other way around, and even though they were right, it hardly mattered. Country driving is peter hesslers third book about china, and it might be the best one to convey the sense of rapid change in the country he knows so well. Peter hessler books list of books by author peter hessler. Peter hessler worked in china from 2000 to 2007 for the new yorker but he had already moved to china in 1996 with the peace corps.
Peter hessler, whom the wall street journal calls one of the western worlds most thoughtful writers on modern china, deftly illuminates the vast, shifting landscape of a traditionally rural nation that, having once built walls against foreigners, is now building roads and factory towns that look to the outside world. I really like peter hesslers writing and find it a true reflection of my experiences in china an a accurate account of chinese attitudes. River town was a great book and i enjoyed ithowever, country driving, although a well written book is narrated by peter berkrot. Hessler writes movingly of everyday people farmers, migrant workers and. Country driving by peter hessler country driving by. In country driving, he focuses on the transportation revolution occurring in china and its effects on chinese cities. Country driving addresses the human side of the economic revolution in china, focusing on. Hessler is a staff writer for the new yorker, and he was that magazines beijing correspondent from 2000 to 2007. Peter hessler is a staff writer at the new yorker, where he served as the beijing correspondent from 2000 to 2007, and is also a contributing writer for national geographic. Peter hessler, a staff writer for the new yorker and a former beijing correspondent established himself as a skilled documentarian with bestselling books river town and oracle bones. Peter hessler, the new yorkers man in beijing, has been an invaluable guide to modern china in his last two books, river town and oracle bones.
I probably dont have to tell anyone here that i am a serious peter hessler fan. From peter hessler, the new york times bestselling author of oracle bones and river town, comes country driving, the third and final book in. Peter hessler is a staff writer at the new yorker, where he served as beijing correspondent from 20002007 and cairo correspondent from 20112016. Country driving by peter hessler does not lack these criticisms. Finally it was as if the chinese threw up their hands and accepted the foreign notion. Country driving, a chinese road trip is a travelogue by peter hessler, a us journalist and writer who was based in beijing from 2000 to 2007 as a staff writer for the new yorker magazine. The two had met in china, where hessler first landed as a peace corps volunteer in 1996. But longtime new yorker writer peter hessler has always balanced his observations of chinas peculiarities with a sense that the western world. A journey through china from farm to factory author. In country driving, peter hessler takes to chinese roads the. The author received his chinese driver s license in 2001 and set off on a 7,000mile journey following the twists and turns of the great wall. He applied for and gained a chinese driving licence in 2001 at a. He is the author of river town, which won the kiriyama prize. Two years on the yangtze, details his two years teaching english.
The book is in three parts, each covering personal experiences that hessler had over the course of several years. When that anthology does arrive, peter hesslers new book, country driving. On the road in china with new yorker staff writer hessler oracle bones. Interviewed by national committee president steve orlins, mr. Country driving ebook by peter hessler 9780061969430. Country driving is his third book about china, after river town. A journey between chinas past and present, 2006, etc. The road leading into town was made of dirt, and the. Hessler writes movingly of the average peoplefarmers, migrant workers, entrepreneurswho have reshaped the nation during one of the most critical periods in its modern history.
Having started in the countryside, with the stately image of. A journey through china from farm to factory, followed. In country driving, peter hessler takes to chinese roads. In a rented car and armed only with junk food and chinese road maps of questionable accuracy, he explored the great expanses of chinas north and northwest. Hessler brought much of the enthusiasm that pervades. His china trilogy river town, oracle bones and country driving. Peter hessler had spent over a decade living in and reporting china before he moved his family to egypt. Country driving addresses the human side of the economic revolution in china. Country driving begins with hesslers 7000mile trip across northern china, following the great wall, from the east china sea to the tibetan plateau. Peter hessler, described by the wall street journal as one of the western worlds most thoughtful writers on modern china, discussed his new book, country driving. Country driving addresses the human side of the economic revolution in china, focusing on economics and development, and shows how the auto boom helps china shift from rural to urban, from farming to business.
In any case, it was hard to set the record straight in a country with no academic tradition of studying the ancient structures. The new yorker beijing correspondent peter hessler discusses his book about everyday life in china, country driving. A journey through china from farm to factory, deserves a. One of the economists best books of the yearfrom the bestselling author of oracle bones and river town comes the final book in his awardwinning trilogy on. The best yet from peter hessler, whose two earlier books, river town and oracle bones, were exemplary forays into the genre. As neither margie nor i drive, well probably never know. A journey through time in china and country driving. A journey through china from farm to factory, on the morning of its hardcover release on february 9th, 2010. Peter hessler chronicles the effects of chinas expanding road network on individual lives. For the next seven years he travelledthe country, tracking how the automobile and the improved transport system were transforming china. Peter hessler is an american writer and journalist.
In 2001, when peter hessler applied for a chinese drivers license, he entered a brave new world. I took a circuitous route along the way, starting with oracle bones and then river town. From peter hessler, the new york times bestselling author of oracle bones and river town, comes country driving, the third and final book in his awardwinning china trilogy. If chinas first urban planners had persevered, peter hesslers road trip from east of beijing to the gobi desert would have taken place on top of. The first recounts hesslers experiences driving along the great wall from beijing toward the tibetan plateau, a trip of nearly 7,000 miles. Like so much of hesslers work, the factory focuses on average people, telling the story of lishuis boom through the experiences of smalltime entrepreneurs, migrant workers, and selfeducated technicians. In the summer of 2001, peter hessler, the longtime beijing correspondent for the new yorker, acquired his chinese drivers license.