If you are interested in China, here are the books I find will be useful to you.
Peter Hessler's 3 books on China.
【River Town】It is about Peter's 2 year's teaching experience in a small city Fuling in Sichuan. I like it so much that I bought both the English and Chinese version. I admit it touched my heart's soft part while reading his story. Especially the story that he gave the students homework to write about their families. Many of them wrote about life in country side. In the end, Peter wrote:
His description and prediction are so accurate 20+ years ago. I also grow up in a poor family in Sichuan, and my life is also a notch better than my parents generation. But the steady quiet struggle of the normal Chinese are still the same. We appreciate our parents love and sacrifice, and appreciate the relative peaceful period we enjoyed so we can work hard to improve our life.
【Country Driving】I actually read country driving first. It is so funny. My take on this book is if you are trying to figure out how Chinese economy is developing so fast, this book offer you some unique insight. There is no exiting path for Chinese development, the rules sometimes are funny and just wrong. Yet we must move ahead, the Chinese creativity in "driving" through and push ahead are just amazing.
【Oracle Bones】This is the only book that cannot be published in China due to some "you know why" reason. Actually the majority of the book is just about the life of one oracle bones scholar. But for me it is a mirror to let us think deeply about our culture, our heritage. I read it with tears, and laugh.
【Fortunate Sons】Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization by Liel Leibovitz. It is a story about 120 Chinese kids sent to USA in 1870s to study. They are hoping by learning from USA, they can save this ancient civilization. If you want to understand why China picked its own path for political and economical development, you will have some understanding from reading this book. China's own path is the result of failed efforts dating more than 100 years ago. I was impressed by Liel's deep understanding of this.
Some other books:
Henry Kissinger's "On China" is a good one if you are interested in politics. You will get the big picture, but not the normal people's heart and mind in Kissinger's book.
Another book I would recommend is "Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World" by Graham Allison. Lee is very special because his unique understanding of western culture and Chinese culture, and his open mind. You will get a good insight on where China is heading based on his vision.
Links to buy these books from Amazon
- River Town, Peter Hessler
- Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory, Peter Hessler
- Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler
- On China, Henry Kissinger
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Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World, Graham Allison
*Fortunate Sons, Liel Leibovitz
