The bestselling author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals returns with a sharply observed, hilarious account of his adventures in China—a complex, fascinating country with enough dangers and delicacies to keep him, and readers, endlessly entertained.

Maarten Troost has charmed legions of readers with his laugh-out-loud tales of wandering the remote islands of the South Pacific. When the travel bug hit again, he decided to go...

"Xiaolu Guo is one of the most acclaimed Chinese-born writers of her generation, an iconoclastic and completely contemporary voice. Her vivid, poignant memoir, Nine Continents is the story of a curious mind coming of age in an inhospitable country, and her determination to seek a life beyond the limits of its borders. Xiaolu Guo has traveled further than most to become who she needed to be. Now, as she experiences the birth of her daughter in a London...

"China today is never out of the news, with stories about international finance, population, and human rights controversies. From the contrast between its ancient heritage and emerging identity to the Chinese 'economic miracle', this Very Short Introduction addresses the themes, developments, and contraditions that have shaped Modern China. In this new edition Rana Mitter provides a contemporary view of the world's most populous nation, considering...

Barrett's two previous novels won her comparisons to Gail Godwin and Anne Tyler. The Middle Kingdom--now available in trade paper--is the story of a dutiful wife in an unhappy marriage who accompanies her husband on a business trip to China. But once there she falls out of love with her husband and into love with the country and its culture.

"A humorous and moving coming-of-age story that brings a unique, not-quite-outsider's perspective to China's shift from ancient empire to modern superpower. Raised in a strict Chinese-American household in the suburbs, Val Wang dutifully got good grades, took piano lessons, and performed in a Chinese dance troupe--until she shaved her head and became a leftist, the stuff of many teenage rebellions. But Val's true mutiny was when she moved to China,...