Changing Gears in China and the US, with Peter Hessler

When writer Peter Hessler (Oracle Bones) started sneaking his Chinese rental car out of Beijing for ever-lengthening trips along the route of the Great Wall in 2001, he was not only embarking on a personal journey but also joining China's accelerating drive towards capitalism, consumerism, and the open road.

Join Peter Hessler and journalist Emily Parker for a lively and insightful conversation on life in a rapidly changing contemporary China as depicted in Hessler's latest book, Country Driving. Followed by a book signing.

Emily Parker, Arthur Ross Center on U.S.-China Relations Fellow, is working on a book about the Internet and democracy. She has worked for the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times and has written extensively about China and Japan for the Wall Street Journal. Based in New York, China, and around the world, Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations fellows contribute significant research in the areas of U.S.-China relations, journalism and new media, and environment.

"... [A] fascinating portrait of a society tearing off into the future with only the sketchiest of maps."
—Publishers Weekly

This event will be a free live video webcast on www.AsiaSociety.org from 6:30 to 8:30 pm EST. Online viewers are encouraged to send questions to moderator@asiasoc.org.

Get a taste for driving in China—read an excerpt from Peter Hessler's new book here.