Customer Reviews

Before the Deluge: The Vanishing World of the Yangtze's Three Gorges

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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A superb book. Drawing from her life experience, the author gives vivid picture of people's life along China's Yangtze River. The construction of the super-dam will greatly alter people's life there. We should thank the author for recording, thus preserving the past that will be gone forever. Scholars, especially scholars of China Studies would get detailed description of the daily life of Chinese people. Travellers would also find the book useful. The author was among the first group of foreigners who worked and travelled in China after 1976. Thus, her story is really invaluable since not many foreigners had the chance to witness China around 1980. Overall, the book is informative and insightful. Wonderful work.

December, 2, 2002. I just returned from my first trip to China which included 4 days cruising through the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. My good fortune was having this wonderfully and scholarly written book by Ms Chetham.

This book was invaluable to me because it gave me a full perspective of China, it's people, it's culture, and it's economic development. With this book as my traveling companion along with 43 good friends from San Francisco our group visited Beijing, Xian, Chongching,350 miles of the Yangtze River, Wuhan, Shanghai, & Souzhou. In each locale we had english speaking guides who were born and raised in the area. The combination of the local input, our observations, and readings from this book created a "trip of a lifetime" for me.

If you plan to visit China this book is a must.

This book encompasses the history of the Yangtze, as a history major I enjoyed learning about the history pertaining the Yangtze. Moreover, it discusses the political motives behind the construction of the dam. Also, this book addresses the social as well as environmental costs of TGD. It is a great book for students, travelers, environmentalists, historians, and those who have an interest in China.

Found this book very readable. Thought it was fascinating as an introduction to how the Yangtze shaped China. Gave me a good overview of the the area around the river basins.

This book not only talks about the Yanze river and three gorges dam but it also gives a very interesting lesson on the history of China. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in China.