- Paperback: 448 pages
- Publisher: Penguin; New Ed edition (26 Feb 1998)
- Language Spanish
- ISBN-10: 0140249125
- ISBN-13: 978-0140249125
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
189,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #25 in Books > Biography > Social & Health Issues > Cultural History > Chinese
- See Complete Table of Contents
The River at the Centre of the World
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Winchester is a storyteller...romantic enough to make us yearn to be there with him." --"The Washington Post"
"Winchester is an exceptionally engaging guide...at home everywhere, ready for anything, full of gusto, and seemingly omnivorous curiosity." --"The New York Times Book Review"
"Another home run." --"Los Angeles Times"
"At one time or another, many of us, I suspect, have wanted to be Simon Winchester, to lead a life that was equal parts Jan Morris and James Bond." --"San Francisco Chronicle"
"Winchester is an exquisite writer and a deft anecdoteur." --Christopher Buckley
"Winchester is an exceptionally engaging guide...at home everywhere, ready for anything, full of gusto, and seemingly omnivorous curiosity." --"The New York Times Book Review"
"Another home run." --"Los Angeles Times"
"At one time or another, many of us, I suspect, have wanted to be Simon Winchester, to lead a life that was equal parts Jan Morris and James Bond." --"San Francisco Chronicle"
"Winchester is an exquisite writer and a deft anecdoteur." --Christopher Buckley
Product Description
Simon Winchester undertakes a journey from the mouth of the Yangste River to its source. This is the story of the river, it's cities and their people, built around the author's own journey to discover something of the essence of China and her people, the Yangtse being her soul and centre
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I visited China three years ago - the usual tourist routes around Beijing, Shanghai and Xian - but the bit I enjoyed most was the Yangtze cruise. Perhaps because I had been there, I was able to relate to this book. More importantly, I wish I had read in before I went. There is so much that I missed - both tangible and atmospheric. But even if you have never been or intend to go, the author paints a picture more vivid than a thousand photographs. The style is amusing and anecdotal but also deeply knowledgeable - history without the boring bits. It will have you crying at the Rape of Nanking, and laughing at Dr Ho of the mountians ( nice bloke , crap tea ). It's a riveting good read and I thoroughly recommend it
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I bought this book I was actually looking for a different book by the same author but this one caught my eye – I wasn’t disappointed.
The book tells of the efforts of Simon Winchester to travel all the way along The Yangtze river from east of Shanghai to the mountains of Tibet. There’s none of the humour of Bill Bryson or Peter Moore; instead this is more the sort of book you could imagine Alan Whicker writing.
At the start, Winchester explains some of the background to the book, notably explaining upstream and downstream, and introducing his travel companion whose real name we are not told for the risk of endangering her safety with Chinese authorities. Clearly, you’re reading a serious travel book. As the journey progresses he describes in detail Shanghai, Nanking, The Three Gorges (before the completion of the hydroelectric dam being built there) and Shigu (an astonishing place a long way along the Yangtze where the river undertakes a quite astonishing turn).
The book is written against the background of bureaucracy and officialdom which at various points threaten the continuation of the story.
As someone who has travelled only very briefly in China, I was absolutely fascinated by this book which perhaps in some way provides a little insight into a country which has so very much to offer.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I would recommend this book not just as an enthralling voyage of discovery but also as a sharply observed insight into modern China. It gives you a sense of the great geographical size of the country and its great potential for good or evil for the future, as well as informing us with lots of interesting stories from the past.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Get through the tedious bits and there's a decent story in there...
It took me two attempts to get into this book, I gave up at the tedious preparation stage the first time around. Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. Crispin
Simon Winchester is eXpAt-tAcULar
Simon Winchester is one of the UK's most prolific authors. His novels about China are best-sellers, but it is in his memoir about his own journeys meandering along the Yangtze... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Xiamen Expat
Ok but overrated
I chose this book with a lot of anticipation having read such other books as Colin Thubron's 'Behind the Wall', Peter Hessler 'River Town' and other books on China, however I was... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Shakyamunchy
Knowledgeable but perhaps too historical
I enjoyed this book, but as a travel book I found a few flaws with it. Although Winchester is knowledgeable on this historical aspects of the Yangtze, I felt that the book gave me... Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2010 by R. Black
Just as relevant nearly fifteen years on
It seems the journey was undertaken in 1995 - not long after Deng's introduction of a market economy to China and, yet, this account is still valuable. Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2009 by G. D. Busby
Interesting but flawed
Very interesting and readable, but a few areas don't ring true (mainly some of the bits around his travelling companion and his position on the Chinese in Tibet).
Published on 1 Sep 2009 by Shashi Desai
Starter Kit for China
This book contains a wondrous selection of linguistic oddities - those that could do with the attention of a proof-reader (bindles, decoctions and similar), spellings that... Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2008 by Mrs. RM KLEPPMANN
A Mystery Within
If you are interested in China, and the Yangtze in particular, this is a fascinating read. It is cram packed with information on the Yangtze and and the countryside it travels... Read more
Published on 19 July 2005 by frank kahney
Interesting but largely overrated
This is a nice book, and it's well-written, and in itself it is interesting. But what it lacks is more than it's got: this is NOT real travel writing. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2002 by Willem Jonkman
This book is enjoyable and informative...
... but it doesn't accomplish what it purports on the cover! We do not travel back through Chinese history as we journey upriver. Read more
Published on 5 Jun 2002 by "pchandrruangphen"
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