Selected Product:
| The River at the Center of the World, Revised: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time
Paperback
Author: Simon Winchester
Publisher: Picador
Release Date: 2004-04-01
ISBN-10: 0312423373
ISBN-13: 9780312423377
List Price: $16.00
Average Customer Rating:
  | |
The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom
ISBN-10: 0060884592
ISBN-13: 9780060884598
List Price:$27.95
Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China (P.S.)
ISBN-10: 0060826592
ISBN-13: 9780060826598
List Price:$15.95
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (P.S.)
ISBN-10: 0060855029
ISBN-13: 9780060855024
List Price:$14.95
Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire
ISBN-10: 0060598611
ISBN-13: 9780060598617
List Price:$13.95
|
To use our price comparison to get the cheapest price, please click on the "Find the Cheapest Price" button located above for The River at the Center of the World, Revised: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time by Simon Winchester (ISBN-10: 0312423373, ISBN-13: 9780312423377).
At this time we have not yet written a review for The River at the Center of the World, Revised: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time by Simon Winchester (ISBN-10: 0312423373, ISBN-13: 9780312423377). Please continue to keep checking back to this page as we are constantly adding reviews.
Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Rising in the mountains of the Tibetan border, the symbolic heart of China pierces 3,900 miles of rugged country before debouching into the oily swells of the East China Sea. Connecting China's heartland cities with the volatile coastal giant, Shanghai, it has also historically connected China to the outside world through its nearly one thousand miles of navigable waters. To travel those waters is to travel back in history, to sense the soul of China, and Simon Winchester takes us along with him as he encounters the essence of China--its history and politics, its geography and climate as well as engage in its culture, and its people in remote and almost inaccessible places. This is travel writing at its best: lively, informative, and thoroughly enchanting.
A great Joy
| Customer Rating: | I can think of few experiences better than traveling up the Yangtse (Changjiang) after reading Simon Winchester's terrific book.
Knowing when to look for a brief glimpse of the Pilutan monument (to one of the few Englishmen to have created something good in China--he charted the river)
That was in 1999, a year later my son and I hiked Tiger Leaping Gorge, further inspired by this amazing book
Like so many of his books, Winchester shares a delightful passion through his writing. If anything his writing, especially this book, is contagious.
River at the Center of World is wonderful book. How many other travel writings still glow after traveling the same path? |
The River at the Center of the World
| Customer Rating: | | I read this book just a few days before I departed on a trip to China that was to include a cruise of the Yangtze. The book is a bit dated, but nonetheless I found it to be extremely useful. I especially appreciated the historical side trips that the author associates with stops along the way. The writing is excellent, and reading the book is a pleasure. |
Winchester on the Yangszi
| Customer Rating: | | Simon Winchester's books are all excellent reading with lots of facts, even on related matters. This one is no exception. Although I am only one-quarter through with this book, I am learning a lot. |
A Fascinating Collection of Historic Details Traveling Up a River
| Customer Rating: | | I had never read Winchester before. On our recent trip down the Yangtze a fellow traveler was reading this book and recommended it. After reading it I would consider it a rich cultural experience through the history of this river. |
Following the Yangtze and learning about China -- one man's perspective.
| Customer Rating: | This travel essay from the author of "The Professor and the Madman" is subtitled, "A Journey Up the Yangtze and Back in Chinese Time". Here, the author uses all his journalistic and investigative skills to tell the story of his 1996 journey through China. He is an Englishman who has lived for many years in Hong Kong and had taken several trips to China at the time of the writing. His desire, however, was to explore areas where westerners were few and far between as well as learn more about this 3,900 mile river which runs through the entire land mass of China and begins in Tibet. As he is a trained geologist, he includes all the interesting details of the natural wonders of this river, as well as discussing the cultural history and introducing us to the varied ethnic groups who consider themselves Chinese.
Most of the area he explored is off-limits to foreigners because there is just too much red tape involved. But he planned his trip carefully, enrolled a Chinese companion and, starting in Shanghai, used whatever means available to take this journey. He was a passenger on several different kinds of boats and there were also some legs of the trip that included motor vehicles. The result is a lesson in history, geography and culture that is unique in its perspective.
The outside world connected through China through trade in its waterways and the history of this trade is fascinating. I learned about the tea industry and the opium wars and the agreements with the United Kingdom that changed the face of China forever. I also learned about the cultural revolution from a different prospective and started to understand the kind of man Mao was who was able to bring about a change from imperial rule to a communist country in just one generation. Mostly though, I learned about the environmental disasters that China is now bringing on itself, especially in the construction of the Three Gorges Dam project. As the book was written in 1996 I was curious about what was going on with this project my internet research found out it is scheduled for completion in 2009 and cost more than 25 billion dollars.
Simon Winchester is a fine writer. His descriptions made his journey come alive for me. There's a big map in the front of the book and a smaller map at the beginning of every chapter. The big map did not include every place name he talked about and so I had to look at the little maps. This made it a little confusing to follow but I was determined and so I had to put some effort into following these maps.
Armchair traveler that I am, I definitely recommend this book. I especially liked it because it piqued my interest in learning even more.
|
|
