Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China (P.S. Series) » (Reprint)

A Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, Peter Hessler studied English literature at Princeton and Oxford before heading to China as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1996 -- and his experience teaching English there has so far inspired two critically acclaimed books.

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.

Entertainment Weekly

“A brilliant observer with a novelist’s ear for character and dialogue, Hessler is both fascinating and funny.”

Author's Note     xi
Part 1
The Underground City     3
The Middleman     9
The Written World     33
The Voice of America     37
The Broken Bridge     57
The Wall     75
The Overnight City     77
Part 2
Starch     101
Hollywood     114
The Voice of the Turtle     135
At Night You're Not Lonely     149
Immigration     169
The Courtyard     174
The Bronze Head     189
Anniversary     199
Sichuanese     203
Part 3
The Book     221
Asylum     231
The Uncracked Bone     243
The Games     259
Sand     275
The Word     289
Translation     295
Flags     306
Straight to Video     310
The Horse     325
Wonton Western     335
Election     352
Part 4
Chinatown     369
The Criticism     383
State Visit     393
The Lost Alphabets     401
Encapsulate Prime     419
The Misprinted Character     431
Patton's Tomb     437
The Sold Words     443
Tea     451
Sources     459
Acknowledgments     469
Index     473