Oracle Bones

Description

Peter Hessler's previous book River Town was a prize-winning, poignant and deeply compelling portrait of China. Now, in Oracle Bones, Hessler returns to the country, excavating its long history and immersing himself in the lives of young Chinese as they migrate from the traditional Chinese countryside to the booming ever-changing cities and try to cope with their society's modern transformation.

Peter Hessler is a correspondent for The New Yorker and a contributor to National Geographic. He is the author of River Town, published in both hardback and paperback by John Murray and winner of the 2001 Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize. Raised in Columbia, Missouri, he now lives in Beijing.

'To come across a Westerner patient enough and tolerant enough to try and understand the immense, exasperating and ultimately lovable entity that is China is always a pleasure. To encounter one that is as literate and sensitive as Peter Hessler is a joy' -- Simon Winchester 'One of the most profoundly original books about China' -- The Economist 20060520 'A swirl of interconnecting stories and histories make up Peter Hessler's extraordinary, genre-defying second book' -- Daily Telegraph 20060520 'Oracle Bones, the much anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed debut, River Town, lays bare a rapidly evolving China through his often bizarre encounters with the engines of its social changes.' -- South China Morning Post 20060528 'Extensive travel around China with occasional flits back home to the U.S., combine with some fascinating speculation on the origins of Chinese civilisation and how the remote past impinges on the present' -- China Review 20060501 'Dip into it ! You will be hooked' -- International Herald Tribune 20060429 'A brilliant tapestry of ancient and modern China' -- Spectator 20060624 'He ranges widely and, in doing so, illustrates how Chinese history accumulates' -- Mick Herron, Geographical Magazine 20060601 'Valuable for its necklace of vignettes -- poignant, comic, and weird ' -- Jonathan Mirsky, Literary Review 20060501 '[An] extraordinary survey of contemporary China!really quite unforgettable' -- The Observer 20060820 'If you read one book on Chinese modern culture, read this one' -- Dimsum.co.uk 20060820 'Ingenious ! Stretches back in time as well as criss-crossing present-day China' -- John Dugdale, Guardian 20060820 'Anyone who wants to begin to understand the complexities that are China, and their bitter-sweet and pregnant relationships with the West, should read this idiosyncratic, brilliant book' -- Ross Leckie, The Times 20060820 'An impressive and moving account of the lives of ordinary people' -- Clover Stroud, Sunday Telegraph / Travel 20060820