These are all books I've read and recommend. I've given you a brief description of each one
and there are links through to Amazon, from where you can purchase the book if you want.
If you don't find what you're looking for here, simply click on the amazon logo to go and find what you do want.
You may find there aren't that many books here. This is because I only recommend books I've
read personally and think are good enough.
You may also find thing of interest in the guidebook and phrasebook section, the Chinese textbooks section and the movies and music section.
wild swans
One of the first, and for my money the best 'being a woman in China' books which have been flying off the presses for some years now.
It's not a new book by any means and the chances are you've already read it. However, I still have to recommend it, as it
stands head and shoulders above many similar books and provides insight into Chinese culture and history in a way most other
books fail to do. Following three generations of Chinese women, from bound feet to high heels, this can be read as history or literature,
and will impress you either way. There are plenty of similar books about, but I have found none as well-written.
(UK)
red china blues
An absolutely fascinating book. Jan Wong came to China in the 70's a fervent believer in Maoism, and this account of her
relationship with China is the most enthralling I have come across. It's not just the background of China that holds you, her
description of her changing beliefs and views are also gripping. Red China Blues also contains the best first-person account of
the events of June 1989, when the author was a journalist based in Beijing, that I have read. It's so good, you should buy it
twice in case you lose one copy.
(UK)
the private life of chairman mao
Written by Chairman Mao's private physician after he'd settled in America (the physician, not Mao), this book provides a rare insight into the
workings of the Chairman's court. I can't say the writing is good enough to stand on its own, but the constant flow of
revelation and gossip from the Chinese version of Camelot will keep you turning the pages. Banned in China, naturally. . .
(UK)
a bend in the yellow river
An unfortunately and unjustifiably overlooked book. The author, a VSO volunteer, taught English in a small Chinese city, and
this book simply follows his life there as he adjusts and settles in. The account of Chinese provincial life should be
required reading for everyone, both those heading to the provinces and those who will never set foot outside of Beijing and Shanghai.
The book was well-received critically, but for some reason never sold well, and it is unlikely to gain much popularity now,
as Peter Hessler's River Town (next) covers much the same topic in much the same way.
(UK)
river town
A more recent and better-selling book than the above, River Town is the account of an American Peace Corp volunteer's life in a
small town on the Yangtze. The author's relationship with his colleagues, students and the locals evolves over time and his
exploration of the town and its surroundings give a fascinating account of a world that is, as the Three Gorges Dam closes and the river rises,
literally disappearing.
(UK)