A journey through China from farm to factory

Peter Hessler chronicles his journey through China.

In 2001, Peter Hessler set off on a 7000 mile drive across China. Over the next seven years, he tracked how the country's industrial boom transformed dirt paths into paved roads and small villages into factory towns. Country Driving, the final book in Hessler's China trilogy, explores the human side of the country's economic revolution. He examines the effect that rapid development has had on the average person in China, and what has been lost or gained in the process.

In 2001, Peter Hessler set off on a 7000 mile drive across China. Over the next seven years, he tracked how the country's industrial boom transformed dirt paths into paved roads and small villages into factory towns. Country Driving, the final book in Hessler's China trilogy, explores the human side of the country's economic revolution. He examines the effect that rapid development has had on the average person in China, and what has been lost or gained in the process.

Guest:

Peter Hessler, author of Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory (Harper), the final book in his China trilogy, along with River Town and Oracle Bones. Hessler is a staff writer for The New Yorker, where he served as the Beijing correspondent from 2000 to 2007.