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BOOKS8.1.07
The Critics: ‘China Road’A new book by NPR’s Rob Gifford chronicles a trip along the “Route 66 of China.” Michael Yessis distills what reviewers—and Jon Stewart—are saying about it.
Stewart called the book “wonderful” and a “very enjoyable read.” He joked with Gifford that China “just seems very gay.” Translation: The stories in the book reveal an “awakening” China, which, according to Stewart’s metaphor, makes the country like a 40-year-old who comes out of the closet and realizes all of the possibilities ahead. Gifford gets more straight-forward praise from fellow writer and China expert Peter Hessler, who blurbed: “Rob Gifford has found the perfect road trip. His years in China have given him a keen eye and a deep understanding of the country’s contradictions; he’s the perfect guide to this magnificent road from Shanghai to the Kazakhstan border.” The former editor of Time Asia, Karl Taro Greenfeld, who reviewed the book for the Los Angeles Times, praises Gifford just for making the trip, given the tedium and danger of travel in China. He calls Gifford “the sort of travel partner who grows on you,” and concludes that the “book deserves praise as a fine vehicle for exploring important and worthy ideas on today’s China—even if it does overheat every few hundred miles.” The Economist also offers a tepid thumbs up: “Those who know China well, and those who don’t, will find Mr Gifford an amiable companion.” How amiable? Check out the aforementioned appearance on The Daily Show or his recent interviews with Diane Rehm, Tavis Smiley or, of course, on National Public Radio. NPR’s Web site also features an excerpt from China Road.
Related on World Hum:
COMMENTSI thought Gifford’s original “China Road” series for NPR (on which the book is based) was one of the best things I’ve heard on public radio, but somehow found his voice a little flat in the book. Still, definitely worth a read for his encounters with the likes of newly-minted Amway salesmen in China’s version of the outback. I salute him for making much of the trip by bus and hitched rides - not for the faint of heart. By on 8.1.07 at 06:50 AM
I’m a newcomer to Worldhum.com, though not new to travel, having worked as a travel photographer for Lonely Planet for 15years.
By Greg Elms on 12.9.07 at 11:16 PM
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