
Other Rivers
A Chinese Education
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Narrated by:
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Peter Hessler
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By:
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Peter Hessler
About this listen
An intimate and revelatory account of two generations of students in China’s heartland, by an author who has observed the country’s tumultuous changes over the past quarter century
More than two decades after teaching English during the early part of China’s economic boom, an experience chronicled in his book River Town, Peter Hessler returned to Sichuan Province to instruct students from the next generation. At the same time, Hessler and his wife enrolled their twin daughters in a local state-run elementary school, where they were the only Westerners. Over the years, Hessler had kept in close contact with many of the people he had taught in the 1990s. By reconnecting with these individuals—members of China’s “Reform generation,” now in their forties—while teaching current undergrads, Hessler gained a unique perspective on China’s incredible transformation.
In 1996, when Hessler arrived in China, almost all of the people in his classroom were first-generation college students. They typically came from large rural families, and their parents, subsistence farmers, could offer little guidance as their children entered a brand-new world. By 2019, when Hessler arrived at Sichuan University, he found a very different China, as well as a new kind of student—an only child whose schooling was the object of intense focus from a much more ambitious cohort of parents. At Sichuan University, many young people had a sense of irony about the regime but mostly navigated its restrictions with equanimity, embracing the opportunities of China’s rise. But the pressures of extreme competition at scale can be grueling, even for much younger children—including Hessler’s own daughters, who gave him an intimate view into the experience at their local school.
In Peter Hessler’s hands, China’s education system is the perfect vehicle for examining the country’s past, present, and future, and what we can learn from it, for good and ill. At a time when anti-Chinese rhetoric in America has grown blunt and ugly, Other Rivers is a tremendous, essential gift, a work of enormous empathy that rejects cheap stereotypes and shows us China from the inside out and the bottom up. As both a window onto China and a mirror onto America, Other Rivers is a classic from a master of the form.
©2024 Peter Hessler (P)2024 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“In River Town (2001), Hessler described teaching English and learning Chinese in the remote town of Fuling. Back after 20 years, much has changed . . . Throughout, Hessler shares the words of his students—variously curious, skeptical, tired, and wise—in what is, at heart, a meditation on teaching and learning from one’s students.” —Booklist (starred)
“Hessler paints an expansive panorama of China . . . The result is an enthralling take on China’s remarkable progress and its downside.” —Publishers Weekly (starred)
“Beyond the headlines of strategic rivalry and military confrontation with China are countless stories of real people trying to live in a complex country . . . [Hessler] tells [students’] stories with empathy and affection . . . shines a valuable light on the reality of life in today’s China.” —Kirkus
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Lyndon Baines Johnson was a man of great ambition and enormous greed, both of which, in 1963, would threaten to destroy him. In the end, President Johnson would use power from his personal connections in Texas and from the underworld and from the government to escape an untimely end in politics and to seize even greater power. President Johnson, the thirty-sixth president of the United States, was the driving force behind a conspiracy to murder President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. In The Man Who Killed Kennedy, you will find out how and why he did it. Political consultant, strategist, and Libertarian Roger Stone has gathered documents and used his firsthand knowledge to construct the ultimate tome to prove that LBJ was not only involved in JFK's assassination, but was in fact the mastermind. With 2013 being the fiftieth anniversary of JFK's assassination, this is the perfect time for The Man Who Killed Kennedy to be available to readers. The research and information in this book is unprecedented, and as Roger Stone lived through it, he's the perfect person to bring it to everyone's attention.
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COMPELLING BOOK - THE CROOKS ARE IN POWER
- By Theo Tsourdalakis on 12-01-13
By: Roger Stone
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
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Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
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it's Nearly perfect
- By Kerry on 09-16-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
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Ho Tactics
- How to MindF**k a Man into Spending, Spoiling, and Sponsoring
- By: G. L. Lambert
- Narrated by: Patrick Stevens
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
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I have discovered a group of women who refuse to be exploited, are immune to manipulation, and who never settle in the name of love. These ladies know what they want and take what they want by beating men at their own game. Utilizing the secrets exposed in this book, these women gain power, money, and status. Men call them gold diggers, women call them hos, but they call themselves winners. This is the book that society doesn't want you to listen to….
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I spent $24,000 in 4 months
- By B.M. on 10-06-18
By: G. L. Lambert
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My Big TOE: Awakening
- Book One of a Trilogy Unifying Philosophy, Physics, and Metaphysics
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My Big TOE: Awakening, written by a nuclear physicist in the language of contemporary culture, unifies science and philosophy, physics and metaphysics, mind and matter, purpose and meaning, the normal and the paranormal. The entirety of human experience (mind, body, and spirit) including both our objective and subjective worlds is brought together under one seamless scientific understanding.
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What a Trip (but to where?)
- By Michael on 11-26-13
By: Thomas Campbell
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Caffeine
- How Caffeine Created the Modern World
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
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Michael Pollan, known for his best-selling nonfiction audio, including The Omnivores Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, conceived and wrote Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World as an Audible Original. In this controversial and exciting listen, Pollan explores caffeine’s power as the most-used drug in the world - and the only one we give to children (in soda pop) as a treat.
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Leaves much to be desired
- By Melody H on 02-02-20
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Mythology: Mega Collection
- Classic Stories from the Greek, Celtic, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, Chinese, Mesopotamian and Egyptian Mythology
- By: Scott Lewis
- Narrated by: Madison Niederhauser, Oliver Hunt
- Length: 31 hrs and 37 mins
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Do you know how many wives Zeus had? Or how the famous Trojan War was caused by one beautiful lady? Or how Thor got his hammer? Give your imagination a real treat. This Mega Mythology Collection of eight audiobooks is for you....
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An interesting set of introductions.
- By Kevin Potter on 05-30-19
By: Scott Lewis
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Eight Dates
- Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
- By: John Gottman PhD, Julie Schwartz Gottman PhD, Doug Abrams, and others
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin, Julie McKay
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
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Navigating the challenges of long-term commitment takes effort - and it just got simpler, with this empowering, step-by-step guide to communicating about the things that matter most to you and your partner. Drawing on 40 years of research from their world-famous Love Lab, Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman invite couples on eight fun, easy, and profoundly rewarding dates, each one focused on a make-or-break issue: trust, conflict, sex, money, family, adventure, spirituality, and dreams.
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What the F. Robot-reader???!?!?!
- By Anonymous User on 01-21-20
By: John Gottman PhD, and others
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Fingerprints of the Gods
- The Quest Continues
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
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Fingerprints of the Gods is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of listeners throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.
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Classic in Historical Mysteries
- By Kelly on 09-05-19
By: Graham Hancock
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Chinese was the earliest truly global cuisine. When the first Chinese laborers began to settle abroad, restaurants appeared in their wake. Yet Chinese has the curious distinction of being both one of the world's best-loved culinary traditions and one of the least understood. For more than a century, the overwhelming dominance of a simplified form of Cantonese cooking ensured that few foreigners experienced anything of its richness and sophistication—but today that is beginning to change.
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Impartial, we’ll researched and critical view that is hard to find
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The New China Playbook
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China's economy has been booming for decades now. A formidable and emerging power on the world stage, the China that most Americans picture is only a rough sketch, based on American news coverage, policy, and ways of understanding. Enter Keyu Jin: a world-renowned economist and a professor at the London School of Economics. A person fluent in both Eastern and Western cultures, and a voice of the new generation of Chinese who represent a radical break from the past, Jin is uniquely poised to explain how China became the most successful economic story of our time.
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Good content but missing important information
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Alexander at the End of the World
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By 330 B.C.E., Alexander the Great had reached the pinnacle of success. Or so it seemed. He had defeated the Persian ruler Darius III and seized the capital city of Persepolis. His exhausted and traumatized soldiers were ready to return home to Macedonia. Yet Alexander had other plans. He was determined to continue heading east to Afghanistan in search of his ultimate goal: to reach the end of the world.
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The best perspective on a neglected second half of the story
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What listeners say about Other Rivers
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- Anonymous User
- 09-10-24
Peter Hessler did a great job narrating this book
The previous book River town was narrated by someone who doesn’t speak or read Chinese, hence quite confusing whenever Chinese names or places are mentioned or quoted in the book. The narrator is also kind of hysterical, ending every single sentence with a rising tone.
Peter Hessler is obviously the best narrator for this new book.
Great book, a bit too much overlap with the previous book though.
I especially enjoyed the detailed interactions with common sense staff members. Sadly I didn’t know that such a magazine existed.
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- Neil Miller
- 10-21-24
The author’s compassion and love for China and his Chinese students.
A fascinating and deeply felt book read superbly by the author. Hessler’s insights into Chinese society and two generations of young Chinese are profoundly enlightening. Never boring, it brings provincial China to life. I highly recommend it.
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- patrick Okell
- 08-09-24
Spot on for China retrograde
Perspective is everything and Hessler nails the changing pervasive ills of China today. 30 Years of change has produced degraded prospects for the young.
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- Andrew M
- 09-29-24
Peter Hessler undefeated
No one delivers the goods like Peter Hessler - this is top form. Especially delightful for River Town fans.
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- jsims9817
- 08-09-24
Real
Honest and empathetic. A must read for anyone interested in what China is. Ten out of ten.
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-17-24
Great follow up to “River Town”
If you are a fan of Peter Hessler, this books is just as good as all the others.
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- Kindle Customer
- 08-07-24
An extremely moving and honest account of contemporary China
The writer’s empathy towards the people he writes about together with his honesty and deep knowledge of the subject make this book worth reading. His style makes it a pleasure to read or listen
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- Ray Chou
- 03-14-25
The accuracy of observations. The outstanding perspective.
Chinese readers deserve more writers like Peter Hessler. It's a shame that he gets "kicked out".
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- smitka
- 01-05-25
From education to surviving politics, reflecting firsthand experience
It’s great to have the author as narrator, he’s good and I didn’t have to suffer through mispronunciations of Chinese.
I used similar books while teaching courses before this Hessler book came out or I would have used it intensely. He conveys a good sense of how most things work well despite the authoritarian political system, including how the bureaucratic system creates interstices. His 25+ years experience adds to the richness.
Of particular interest was his account of his daughters’ elementary school, because my son and daughter both attended a local elementary school in Tokyo. The early schooling environment in the US, Japan and China clearly have a large and lasting impact on their societies. There appears to be a lot in common across China, but in Japan there’s disparity by high school (see Tom Rohlen’s study of 3 high schools), and even more in the US, with elite AP students alongside the functionally illiterate and innumerate.
What I don’t know is the impact of declining population on schools. Here Japan is in the vanguard, with widespread closures, particularly in rural communities where some neighborhoods have no one under age 70. Time for interlibrary loan requests? - I no longer have to go to Tokyo to access Japanese language materials.
Oh, and in learning to read Chinese, Hessler’s book indicates that I surely need to track down a couple anthologies of Tang poems as it’s part of the basic vocabulary even at the elementary school level. For Japan that’s not needed, “hyakunin isshu” (100 poems from 100 writers) aren’t quoted much, and in contemporary English novels authors seem compelled to have their characters point out when they’re quoting Shakespeare.
In sum, this is well worth reading for everyone with an interest in contemporary China. But it should be read more widely, for its insights in sociology and education.
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- Jo
- 03-01-25
A meh book
Not much of a story, just some documentary articles. Nothing really insightful, not sure who’s the audience, I am disappointed.
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