Month: May 2006

“Ten Top Technologies for Librarians 2006” by Michael Stephens at OPAL April 6, 2006

The author, Peter Hessler, talked about the background of his new book today on campus. He made a friend, the Uighur trader, whom he wrote about in this book in Yabaolu, where I lived in Beijing. Can’t wait to read this one.

From Booklist
Hessler, who has lived in China for the past nine years and is the Beijing correspondent for the New Yorker, has written a fascinating and frequently moving account of life in modern China as seen through the eyes of an eclectic group of people, including a minority Uighur, who operates on the fringe of legality, a factory worker, a teacher, a film director, and a scholar who was destroyed by the Cultural Revolution. All of them seem to function as outsiders as they struggle to cope with a nation that is undergoing monumental change. Hessler seamlessly interweaves their stories with the broader context of Chinese contemporary events, and he ties those events effectively with examinations of history, archaeological excavations, and the Chinese struggle to redefine national identity. This is an important and informative work offering a unique perspective on where China may be headed. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

才读了一半，但是它引人入胜， 与我们的职业密切相关。 我甚至怀疑主人公之一是我曾在加州的朋友。

Review From Library Journal
With China poised to enter the World Trade Organization, the importance of its billion-plus potential customers to the global economy cannot be overestimated. Journalist Sheff (Game Over) describes how the country’s information technology leaders are battling outdated business models, a tumultuous market, and a government that pushes expansion while trying to censor Internet usage. Despite these sometimes overwhelming odds, estimates predict an astounding 30 to 60 million Chinese Internet users by 2005. Sheff uses biographies and case studies to introduce the visionaries and venture capitalists leading Asia into the 21st century. Readers will enjoy this well-written and clearly organized study of an extraordinary economic and social revolution, and anyone whose company plans to begin or increase trade with China will profit from learning about the major players and the forces influencing the new Chinese economy. Business collections in all types of libraries will want to purchase. Susan C. Awe, Univ. of New Mexico Lib., Albuquerque
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.