In Manchuria: A Village Called Wasteland and the Transformation of Rural China

A compelling and insightful exploration of contemporary China, "In Manchuria: A Village Called Wasteland and the Transformation of Rural China" by Michael J. Meyer is presented here as a quality trade paperback edition. In the tradition of celebrated travelogues such as In Patagonia and Great Plains, Meyer's work offers a scintillating combination of memoir, contemporary reporting, and meticulous historical research, presenting a unique and intimate profile of China's legendary northeast territory. For three years, Meyer immersed himself in the rice-farming community of Wasteland, the ancestral home of his wife's family. Their personal saga beautifully mirrors the tremendous change most of rural China is undergoing, vividly illustrating the impact of a privately held rice company that has introduced organic farming, built new roads, and constructed high-rise apartments, enticing farmers to exchange their land rights for modern living. Once a commune, Wasteland has transformed into a company town—a significant phenomenon across China that Meyer documents for the first time. Indeed, not since Pearl Buck wrote The Good Earth has anyone brought rural China to life with such depth and immediacy as Meyer has here. Amplifying the story of family and Wasteland, Meyer takes the reader on a captivating journey across Manchuria's past, a history that illuminates much about contemporary China—from the dramatic fall of the last emperor to the Japanese occupation and the eventual Communist victory. Through vivid local characters and compelling narrative, Meyer illuminates the remnants of the imperial Willow Palisade, the legacy of Russian and Japanese colonial cities and railways, and the poignant story of a POW camp into which a young American sergeant parachuted to free survivors of the Bataan Death March. "In Manchuria" is a rich, original, and essential chronicle of contemporary China and its people. This copy is in Good condition, reflecting typical wear for a paperback of its age.

• Author: Meyer, Michael J.
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Press
• Year: 2015
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Good
• ISBN: 9781632860569