“…an expansive panorama of China, from poignant descriptions of the depopulation of the Fuling countryside brought about by China’s rapid industrialization to the grim worldview promulgated at his daughters’ school.”
“This is journalism at its most humane, and (especially for those of us who aren’t Sinologists) a perfect primer on what China is really like.”
“…an extraordinary work of foreign correspondence and memoir, drawn from a quarter century of direct and intimate observation.”
“The hardest and most important challenge in writing about China is conveying the vivid individuality of the people who make it up. Peter Hessler does this wonderfully again.”
“Beyond the headlines of strategic rivalry and military confrontation with China are countless stories of real people trying to live in a complex country …he tells their stories with empathy and affection.”
“…one still comes away from The Last Yakuza finding its subject not just sympathetic, but even lovable.”
“Painstakingly reported and paced like a thriller, this is a must-read for anyone interested in organized crime.”
“…the essential, brilliant, accessible guide to this rapidly growing movement. If you are interested in work, technology, climate or the future of humanity-read this book.”
On May 5th, Rob Verchick was named a member of Harvard Radcliffe Institute’s 2023–2024 class of fellows, a cohort whose projects contend with the urgent, the beautiful, and the vast: from reckoning with the challenges of climate change to creating digital models of iconic Italian violins to detecting distant galaxies.
“His book tackles one of the most fraught climate policy questions: what should be done to adapt to a world facing growing evidence of climate stress?”