Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip (p.S.) [Paperback]

One ofThe Economist's Best Books of the Year

From the bestselling author ofOracle BonesandRiver Towncomes the final book in his award-winning trilogy on the human side of the economic revolution in China.

Peter Hessler, whom theWall Street Journalcalls one of the Western world's 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.

A fascinating road trip through a land in transition. . . . Hesslers description of Chinas new drivers is hilarious. . . .Country Drivingtells us as much about contemporary China even when Hessler is not on the road.The best yet from Peter Hessler, whose two earlier books,River TownandOracle Bones, were exemplary forays into the genre. . . . Told with his characteristic blend of empathy, insight, and self-deprecating humor.Peter Hessler, a modern Marco Polo crossing China in a rented Jeep Cherokee, has witnessed signs and wonders worthy of a Coen brothers film. . . . Every so often, I read a book that upends my perceptions about a place. This is one of them.Hessler has made a career of interpreting contemporary China and, for my money, nobody does it better. . . . Hessler is a magnificent guide to this largely uncharted territory, witty, insightful, keenly aware of the ironies of this communist-capitalist society.If you want to understand todays China, and the forces changing it, you need to readCountry Driving.Hessler is a keen observer of mind-catching details and an engaging storyteller. . . . Full of exotic detail, solid reporting, and ironic observation,Country Drivingoffers a personal snapshot of the worlds second superpower hurtling through the 21st century.Lively. . . . Engaging. . . . Hessler sets out with some sul.