About this item
An intimate and revelatory account of two generations of students in China's heartland, by an author who has observed the country's tumultuous changes over the past quarter century. More than two decades after teaching English during the early part of China's economic boom, an experience chronicled in his book River Town, Peter Hessler returned to Sichuan Province to instruct students from the next generation. At the same time, Hessler and his wife enrolled their twin daughters in a local state-run elementary school, where they were the only Westerners. Over the years, Hessler had kept in close contact with many of the people he had taught in the 1990s. By reconnecting with these individuals - members of China's "Reform generation," now in their forties - while teaching current undergrads, Hessler gained a unique perspective on China's incredible transformation.
About the Author
Peter Hessler is a correspondent for the New Yorker and a contributor to National Geographic. He is the author of ORACLE BONES and RIVER TOWN, which won the 2001 Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize. In 2011 he was awarded a MacArthur Foundation 'genius grant'. Born in Columbia, Missouri, he now lives in Cairo with his wife and daughters.
