No comments about On the trail of ancient man: A narrative of the field work of the Central Asiatic Expeditions.

1 comments about Where's the Duck in Peking? Glimpses of China.

1. I told you a while back that I don't do negative book reviews, but apparently I lied again. Hey, I'm an author. Lying is my job. I can reinvent myself more than Jerry Brown.
   
   I'm sure Schimmels was a fine teacher while he was in China, and I'm glad I read this book. It made me realize just how much better I write than he does. Or did, since he died before it was published. But, don't waste your time on this one.
   
   His observations about China aren't observant and his jokes aren't funny. He published quite a few books in his lifetime. I can only hope they're not all this bad, or I could turn quite cynical about the publishing industry. (Oops! I already am!)

No comments about Old China in Historic Photographs (Dover Photography Collections).

No comments about Lonely Planet Seoul City Guide (Lonely Planet City Guide).

1 comments about The Trans-Salwin Shan State of Kiang Tung.

1. Younghusband described his surveys around Kengtung State in eastern Burma, in 1888. His mission was to inform the British military of routes to Kengtung, in a time when Britain, France, Siamese and other southeast asian interests were in conflict over eastern Burma. His accounts of social and material culture and his sketches from life of the eastern Shan people are of interest - the current regime in Burma (Myanmar) has moved these into past history. The only other extensive accounts of historical Kengtung are the 1970s history and translated chronicles by Sao Saimong Mongrai, of the Kengtung dynasty.

No comments about An Aide-de-Camp's Recollections of Service in China, a Residence in Hong-Kong, and Visits to Other Islands in the Chinese Seas: Volume 1.

No comments about Narrative of a Tour through Armenia, Kurdistan, Persia and Mesopotamia: With an Introduction, and Occasional Observations upon the Condition of Mohammedanism ... Christianity in those Countries. Volume 2.

No comments about Phoenix Harvest (My House Has Two Doors, Vol 2).

1 comments about The Promise of the Revolution: Stories of Fulfillment and Struggle in China's Hinterland.

1. This year or next, China is expected to be the world's third largest economy, as measured by exchange rates. Currently it is the fourth, behind Germany. The last 30 years have been an amazing saga of economic development. Yet, amidst all the positive news and glitter, Wright provides a salutary tale. He explains that outside the large cities, in the countryside, life is still often one of hard, manual labour. As it has always been in China's history.
   
   Wright focuses on Guizhou, a poor interior province. Far from the glitter of Beijing or cosmopolitan Shanghai. Much of the book looks at peasants that he has extensively interviewed. In sympathetic portrayals, he lets their words speak for themselves. We see why so many have migrated to the cities in search of jobs. There is massive underemployment on the farms, with minimal cash flow causing very low incomes. Many peasants know someone who has found better paying work in factories elsewhere. The book's accounts suggest that the growth of Chinese cities will continue unabated. With millions of peasants willing to migrate if conditions do not improve for them.
   
   The book explains the Chinese government's search for a more even development, that benefits farmers. Prosperity gives the government legitimacy with the people.

No comments about China Yesterday and Today.