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In Manchuria: Journeys Across China's Northeast Frontier
by
In the tradition of In Patagonia and Great Plains, Michael Meyer’s In Manchuria is a scintillating combination of memoir, contemporary reporting, and historical research, presenting a unique profile of China’s legendary northeast territory. For three years, Meyer rented a home in the rice-farming community of Wasteland, hometown to his wife’s family, and their personal sag
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Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
February 17th 2015
by Bloomsbury Press
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Twelve years ago when I was planning a trip to China, I used a guidebook which issued a warning to the effect that “no matter how up to date this book is at the time of its printing, it will be out of date by the time you read it.”
Michael Meyer tries to grab hold of that slippery country and to give a sense of its past and present by living in a remote Manchurian village called Wasteland and digging through the layers of history. All the while, the village is hurtling into the twenty-first centu ...more
Michael Meyer tries to grab hold of that slippery country and to give a sense of its past and present by living in a remote Manchurian village called Wasteland and digging through the layers of history. All the while, the village is hurtling into the twenty-first centu ...more

I read this with the hopes of data I could use in my novel research, and I ended up delighted with the book overall. This is one of several great travelogues/historical explorations I have read in recent years (Children of Kali by Kevin Rushby is worthy of note here). Meyer approaches the book with an American perspective, but as an American who is quite happy to immerse himself in other cultures. He lived for a year in his wife's native Manchurian village of Wasteland, while his wife is elsewhe ...more

Would be good for those who are interested in Chinese history. Former Peace Corps member Michael Meyer takes us through a journey of rural China, from it's time under the emperors to the modern day and the changes and shifts it has gone through. When people think of China they may think of the Forbidden City or the Great Wall or Communism or any other number of things, but Meyer takes the reader on a very different journey through a place where probably a lot of people may have never heard of, u
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I thoroughly enjoyed this description of Northeastern China, centered on the village (named Wasteland) where the author's wife spent her childhood. Largely a memoir of the author's experiences and travels to sites of interest, it gives quite a lot of the history of Manchuria, as this part of the country was traditionally called, from the imperial period through the Japanese occupation, the Mao years, and into the present. This history is both from research and from the point of view of people wh
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Michael Meyer is such an exquisite writer on China that I almost couldn't finish this book, both because nearly every sentence generated additional thoughts -- forcing me into perpetual distraction -- and because my sense of inadequacy in the face of his ridiculous skill was constantly in the back of my head. Damn you Meyer, for being this good! :)
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I adored Meyer's previous book about the fall of the hutongs in Beijing, China but I felt this piece to be more disjointed. In attempting to show what has happened to the small farmer and advent of big agribusiness into the Manchurian way of life, he mixes three narratives. One is his personal life and the time spent living among the Manchurian natives in a small village, another is the vast history of Manchuria, the conquests, and its peculiar place in the thinking of the rest of China, and ano
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Jul 25, 2015
Dave Eisenstark
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in the world.
Terrific book. The characters in it are wonderful, including the author. I would have enjoyed an even larger cast and more day-to-day action. Certainly you have to think of Great Plains by Ian Frazier and the Peter Hessler books on China when you read this. A great tradition the author follows nicely. I'm anxious to go back and read Meyer's book on the hutongs as well.
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I really enjoyed his other books, not this one. As another reviewer noted, it was "plodding." The writing was flat and it never got anywhere. There was nothing tying the story line together.
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Author Mr. Meyer was a reporter in China before. He first came to China in 1990s with Peace Corps. It's very interesting to note that he was a classmate of Peter Hessler. They learned Chinese in a college in Sichuan, then sent to different schools to teach English. It's said that Hessler was the best Chinese learner in class, and Meyer was the second. After teachers days, they both went to Beijing and became journalists. This is Meyer's second book about China. The first one is about old alleys
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Michael Meyer has provided an approach to travel writing with which I was previously less acquainted. While my travel writer of choice, was, and is, Robert D Kaplan, Meyer provides a style and narrative in contrast, in the sense that a greater portion of the novel is personal recollection of interactions with people, but not just any people, people who form the human and personal accounts of China's transformation.
Having previously lived in Jilin Province, and having personally explored the citi ...more
Having previously lived in Jilin Province, and having personally explored the citi ...more

May 25, 2020
Ann
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
historical
This was a riveting book, written about the northeastern part of China known as Manchuria, an area which is not usually written about as much as more southern parts. Manchuria was, however, prominent in the pre-WWII and WWII days, due to the Japanese invasion of China which occurred in that part of the country. I have a special interest in this due to my son's having spent two years very near the village written about in this book; also, several of the things about the culture I observed during
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The more I read about China, the more eager I am to learn about this nation, rich in history and culture. Michael Meyer, becomes an expat living in rural China after a stint in Peace Corps, and enjoys teaching there. He meets his Chinese wife and decides to rent some land in a small village called Wasteland - the home of his wife's family.
What follows is a charming and interesting story of Meyer's personal experiences in an area of China rarely written about, the people, and it's history. I e ...more
What follows is a charming and interesting story of Meyer's personal experiences in an area of China rarely written about, the people, and it's history. I e ...more

While reading his wonderful experiences in a foreign country makes me miss my hometown which is a small village in Northeastern China near the village the writer mentioned in this book. I had a lot of my childhood memories brought back in my mind when I read all kinds of activities people did during the freezing winter; they sat on Kang with sunflowers and sipping a cup of hot tea; they sang the folk songs I know. I miss my family and my hometown.
Besides the writer's adventures in China, his wi ...more
Besides the writer's adventures in China, his wi ...more

As a native Manchurian (people from Manchuria), I find this book really fun to read. There are a lot of interesting subtle observations of Manchuria people from a foreigner's perspective and some even made me homesick. This is a book I would recommend if someone wants to know the roots of modern Manchuria people and culture.
One thing I do not like about this book is the lengthy details of historical backstory. Though they are crucial to introducing the historical background to people unfamiliar ...more
One thing I do not like about this book is the lengthy details of historical backstory. Though they are crucial to introducing the historical background to people unfamiliar ...more

An impressive picture of DongBei, I've been to Jilin for several times, I like the people there, the natural beauty there, and most important, the excellent ski resort makes me want to go back every winter. But the history about Qing Dynaty & the anti-japanese war is a little bit boring, it's too long and noting new.
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Fantastic and insightful look into the history and places of cities, peoples, politics, and changes shaping China's lesser known 'dongbei' northeast. Heard of Manchuria, but always wondered what it was and is--now you can know.
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A fun piece that is occasionally difficult to follow. The local history and environment of Manchuria is fascinating, and is described with rich and vivid language. The author's personal experiences are also fascinating, yet at times repetitive or lengthy.
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This is a fascinating account of living in today's Manchuria with thoughtful sections about the history of this part of north west China over the last century. It is part travelogue, part social science, part philosophy and is written in an absorbing way with some lovely language.
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It's a good book when I wish it was longer.
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Michael Meyer alternates between the story of his wife's family and how they ended up in Wasteland, a town in Manchuria, with the larger history of Manchuria. His writing is interesting and humorous.
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very enjoyable. just didn't hold my interest as much as I like. it seemed to be more about the author then it was about Manchuria or those who live there
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The subtitle of the book is a good summary of what the book is all about: A Village Called Wasteland and the Transformation of Rural China. Meyer who first spent time in southern China as part of the Peace Corp, married a woman from northeastern China (Manchuria). After being married for thirteen years, his wife (now a lawyer) took a job in Hong Kong. Meyer (a travel writer and author) decided it would be a great time to visit her family in Manchuria and travel around the area.
His wife’s family ...more
His wife’s family ...more

While I sometimes labored through In Manchuria, it was more often due to a busy summer and a distracted mind. Make no mistake, writer Michael Meyer is gifted in making history engaging without being intellectually insulting – no easy task.
Obviously, in a project as all-encompassing as telling the “transformation of rural China,” some chapters are more interesting than others. Meyer not only tells the history of the region, but also describes his sojourn. I found the chapters dealing with the Ja ...more
Obviously, in a project as all-encompassing as telling the “transformation of rural China,” some chapters are more interesting than others. Meyer not only tells the history of the region, but also describes his sojourn. I found the chapters dealing with the Ja ...more
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Michael Meyer is an American travel writer and the author of In Manchuria: A Village Called Wasteland and the Transformation of Rural China and The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed. He graduated from University of Wisconsin–Madison. He first went to China in 1995 with the Peace Corps. Following Peace Corps, he graduated from the University of Califo
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