by Evan Osnos
First published 2015
China undergoes massive change as individuals clash with Communist Party control. New Yorker Beijing correspondent Evan Osnos spent years witnessing this transformation firsthand. He examines why a government that lifted more people from poverty than any other civilization restricts free expression so tightly. He explores why millions of English speaking Chinese professionals who love Western pop culture call themselves "angry youth" and resist Western influence. Osnos follows ordinary people navigating their changing country through personal stories. He reveals how Chinese citizens from every social level search for meaning after two decades chasing wealth. The book captures the central battle between personal ambition and state authority. Osnos shows how both powerful leaders and regular people remake their lives as their nation changes around them. His reporting reveals China as neither the land of pragmatic plutocrats and devoted students nor the corrupt giant on the brink of collapse that outsiders often imagine.
Genres: politics, china, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-journey, social-commentary
Setting: China, New York
Period: 21st Century
416 pages · Paperback · Farrar, Straus and Giroux