The Last Days of Old Beijing by Michael Meyer

[Drunk Monk]

Brilliant. A must read if you want to be mister-know-it-all in two weeks. Meyer lived in the hutongs for two years, the 12th century slums that are being destroyed to make way for the Olympics. But like anything China, it's not a simple story. China is always complex. It's the burden of five thousand years of history. Meyer weaves a tale rich with well researched data on how this sort fo thing has happened before for centuries in Beijing, and has even happened around the world in other major cities. He brings the globalization perspective in while never losing sight of the people, the human condition. Most of all, he captures the romance and horror that is modern China beautifully. He delivers the heaven and hell of it. On par with Theroux, and my buddy Matt Polly. Highest recommendations, especially now.

Note that I read an advacned reader's copy, so I assume the typos and some of the redundancies will have been removed.