In the People's Republic: An American's Firsthand View of Living and Working in China

by Orville Schell -

China

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History

271 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Timothy Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essentially a travel novel of the author's trip to China in the early 1970's. He visited communal farmers and factories. It does highlight some of the brainwashing that the people went through during the Cultural Revolution but it also speaks very highly at the level of organization, efficiency, patriotism and sustainability. The people the author gets to talk to-some I'm sure handpicked by the government-speak of not caring about material wonders but of only working for the greater good. They do sacrifice a great deal. The book shatters a lot of stereotypes Americans have of this period in China of starvation and brutal government rulings. It did seem to energize and inspire the people to work for other's and not get caught up in western materialism. This period probably laid the foundation for today's Chinese successes. Disallowing western culture, food etc probably played a key role-there's not much that is beneficial for other societies. Chinese public works are examined and one can see the contrast of works here in the USA where essentially zero large projects have been accomplished besides highways in decades. Many of those were even done poorly (Big Dig in Boston for example). Though undemocratic and sometimes underemotional concerning individual suffering and difficulties (a cultural difference that westerners see as backwards but I'm not so sure) they have truly accomplished a great deal in the last forty years.
This gets three stars mainly because of how dated it is. I got this book from Bill and Andrea when they moved and I promised I would read it.. five years later.

[Rosie K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for ANS 379, spring 2022