Gulp by Mary Roach

Mary Roach is one of my fave science writers.  She's written Bonk (about sex), Stiff (about cadavers and what happens to them) and a few entertaining others.  This book Gulp is about the alimentary canal and how it works.  Actually I read the book to find out exactly how Elvis Presley died (and found out!)  Essentially we are a large worm, that grew arms, legs and a brain so the worm would have an easier time getting food to live.  That's pretty simplistic, but the book has many odd bits of entertaining stuff in it - how about the man with a colon that measured 28" around (not lengthwise) - yes twenty eight - it's in a museum.  If you are curious and like the interesting/weird stuff of life this is the book for you.

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller

Hmmm, this would be a great thing to do after I practice a bit!  It was an amazing book to read , just for the time spent walking, one foot after another - that's exactly how it's done; with of course, a few stops for bears and snakes, mice, rain, sleet, rocks, and other assorted stuff.  The book is wonderfully written, and a great adventure.  From Georgia to Maine 2,172 miles, if you're an armchair traveler, please pick up this book!

China: Fragile Superpower - by Susan L. Shirk

China indeed is a very complex and big country which has vast geographical spread over 10 neighboring countries with close territorial contacts on land and at sea, a multi-ethnic population of 1.3B and a long history; although People Republic of China (PRC) only has 64 years of history. She is facing a lot of challenges both domestically (justice, high gini coefficient, corruptions, pollution, food safety, etc, etc) and externally ( in the areas of political institutions and human rights, territorial disputes and trade imbalances, energy and raw material sourcing, etc, etc). The world is closely watching how the two world super-powers (US and China) with totally different cultural beliefs will continue to co-ordinate going forward. 

This book comprehensively reflects the author, Susan Shirk's personal experience and her general perception of the China's leadership from the 'West' point of view. It is remarkable that Shirk had the actual experience in China back to the early 1970's when American national security advisor Henry Kissinger arrived to arrange for President Nixon’s visit. She pointed out that although China looks like an economic powerhouse from the outside but its internal domestic problems also pose the greatest challenge to China’s leader that could derail its peaceful rise.  

This book is very informative and it is ideal for those who are seeking to know more about the new China.

Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China

A combination of cheap labor and can do attitude has transform China from a mainly agricultural society to one that has become the world's factory. The 130 million migrant workers getting out from village to city is one of the factors that contributes the "cheap labor" in china.

The author, Leslie Chang tells the story of migrant workers through the lives of two young women whom she follows over the course of three years in a city named Dongquan, an industrial city in Guangdong province and it is about 100 km from Hong Kong.

This book provides the insights of why and how young farmers are moving out from rural village to the city. It also paints a picture of what the migrant workers' "factory life" looks like....how they fight their daily battle, how they save money and send back home to support their families. Chang also takes us inside a large sneaker factory, that is so big, has it's own hospital, movie theatre and fire station. There are thousands of factories and millions of workers in Dongquan.  Employers are free to discriminate widely while workers lie about their experience seems the best way to get a job. And the migrant workers are constantly jumping from one factory to the other for more money and a better life. The mass migration of young workers from country side to the city in China is fascinating. You may find this book interesting.

 

Midnight in Peking

In 1937, Peking had a population of one and a half million; of which only two or three thousands were foreigner. A young Englishwoman, Pamela Werner was murdered and her body was found in an icy wasteland. All the blood had been drained from her body and the body was badly mutilated (and some other gruesome details).......The circumstances were deeply suspicious. An investigation was launched but it was quickly turned into trouble. An unusual Chinese-British operation was formed to get to the true. But over and over again the police were steering away from the details that might suggest to blame on the white community. And perhaps, it might be less embarrassing and more convenient to think that the crime was committed by a crazy Chinese killer.

The author Paul French, a historian, a business advisory and analyst calls the book "reconstruction". He spent seven years researching this dramatic true story. He went through archives, uncataloged files in both China and United Kingdom. Clue by clue, He uncovered the truth of this bizarre murder case.

This was a pre-world war II true-crime story.