China's Great Train: Beijing's Drive West and the Campaign to Remake Tibet

by Abrahm Lustgarten

Book Overview

An account of China's quest to build a railway into Tibet (which was completed in 2006) and its obsession with transforming that land and its people, Lustgarden's book is also a first-hand look at the Chinese boom and the promise and costs of rapid development on China's people.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805083243
• ISBN13: 9780805083248
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Times Books
• Length: 305 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Insight into China and Tibet

As a recent visitor to China where I took several trains I look for books about this fascinating country. This book is really a mix of the political history of Tibet and China and the building of the train line. The author gets into the background through the lives of some Tibetan people, by far the best way to help understand the impact on ordinary people. But he doesn't get lost in the details. The other half of the book, the actual building is also interesting, both the political pressure of an impossible building schedule and problems with unproven construction solutions especially of building on permafrost. A quick, easy and interesting read.

Fantastic!

What a an enlightening read. Brilliant imagery and a wealth of knowledge. This is not one to be missed.