Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler

Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler

"Hessler has stepped off the treadmill of events-driven journalism to produce one of the most profoundly original books about China since, well, since his first book, River Town. . . . . Everywhere, the book is shot through with sensitivity, insight, and rollicking good humor too." --The Economist

"Oracle Bones will firmly establish Mr. Hessler as one of the Western world's most thoughtful writers on modern China. . . . A page-turner with great insight into Chinese society. . . . A richly humanistic portrayal." --Wall Street Journal

The acclaimed author of River Town offers us a rare portrait, both intimate and epic, of twenty-first century China.

A century ago, outsiders saw China as a place where nothing ever changes. Today the country has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people. In a narrative that gracefully moves between the ancient and the present, the East and the West, Hessler captures the soul of a country that is undergoing a momentous change before our eyes.

Peter Hessler is a contributing writer for National Geographic and a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he was the Beijing correspondent from 2000 to 2007. River Town, which won the Kiriyama Prize, Oracle Bones, which was a National Book Award finalist, and, most recently, Country Driving are among his works. He was designated a MacArthur Fellow in 2011 after winning the National Magazine Award for excellence in reporting in 2008. He is based in Cairo.