Solid Introduction to Modern China
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I'm a fan of travelogues and since I'm trying to get a little more clued in about modern China, this book seemed like a good pick. After spending seven years as a correspondent for NPR, author Gifford packed his bags in 2004 to move back to England and struck out for one last Chinese adventure. Over the course of two weeks, he made his way along "Route 312", which winds a roughly northwest 3,000-mile route from Shanghai to the border with Kazakhstan. Gifford preaces hiss journey with the hope that it will help him answer the question he gets all the time about China: will it become the next global superpower, or will it crumble into chaos? With that in mind, he's off (along with an NPR production crew) on a motley assortment of buses and trucks, meeting all manner of people, from angry poor farmers to slick rich businessmen, and everyone in between (including some zealous Amway reps!). The most memorable of his casual encounters is probably the traveling government abortionist who matter-of-factly explains the need for forced abortions to Gifford.
His travels touch on pretty much everything someone reasonably conversant with modern China might already be familiar with: rural civil unrest, AIDS epidemics, the sex-trade industry, the shortage of woman in some areas, the pervasiveness of official corruption, ecological catastrophes in the making, the rise of religion, the political repression and cultural conversion of ethnic minorities, and of course the booming economic development and the confusing winds of change that follows in its wake. It's all good stuff, ably reported, however it struck me as somewhat superficial in a sense. These are all stories anyone reasonably attuned to international news and trends has probably heard on NPR, read in the Washington Post or the Economist, or seen on Frontline. The one area he doesn't touch upon, and probably should have, is the Chinese military and its vast role in China's politics and economics. Another quibble I have with the book is Gifford's blithe willingness to trot out all manner of "official" Chinese statistics throughout the book, despite general acknowledgement in much of the world that official Chinese data is hardly a reliable representation of the truth.
In conclusion, Gifford returns to the broader picture of What It All Means, and fails miserably at providing a satisfying answer. Having introduced his trip with the uneccesarily binary "will China rise or fall?" motif, he now reluctantly returns to the question, ultimately sidestepping it. This all smacks of an editor's attempt to impose a larger framework on the book, and Gifford is so obviously uncomfortable in this role that it becomes embarrassing to read on as he flails around in the role of analyst, quoting the opinions of several China scholars and pundits at length rather than providing his own analysis. One can't help but wish that someone with such depth and breadth of experience in China could have arrived at a more insightful conclusion. Still, the book has great value as an easy to read and often fun introduction to modern China for those who are interested but don't know much.
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it is what it is, a travel book, but a good one.
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yes, it may be lacking in places, but it is a well observed trek across China, knowing the country well, I enjoyed the trip, and the author captures it's essence. not so much a journey into the future of a rising power, too much hype in that title, but a journey thru a country changing fast and hitting a few bumps.
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Could have been so much better
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Like the previous reviewer, I also read this book after coming back to the UK from China. But while it's far from a bad book, this feels more like a missed opportunity. Rob Gifford has obviously spent a long time in China, but sadly his depth of knowledge and love/hate relationship just aren't conveyed.
His journey from one end of China to the other should be a great way to sum up such a complex country, but instead the reader has a string of superficial observations, linked by irrelevant personal info (I'm all for writers making themselves part of the story but there has to be a reason or a lesson - or at least be amusing) as he glosses over a string of stories.
Some are well told and really encapsulate the problems and potential of today's China, but these highlights are few. One brief observation about Chinese Muslims loving Osama bin Laden is glossed over in about three paragraphs - surely there must have been more to say!
Meanwhile he spells out his observations after each event - presumably not convinced that the reader can draw his own opinion - which begins to grate.
It's a shame as this book had a lot to offer - and for someone interested in the country, with time on their hands, it's still worth a read. However, in its place I'd highly recommend River Town/Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler to see what this book should have been.
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When in Rome
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This is a very entertaining and informed read. Having just returned from China I was looking for something to transport me back there and this book did just that. The author has a great attitude throughout the book, linking what he learns from the many people he meets with his observations on the history and future in China. Whether this book is as good for people who have not visited China I do not know, but highly recommended if you have.
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