River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze

　　涪陵這座偏遠的小城位於中國四川省的心臟地帶，隱藏在長江河谷的梯田山丘之間。和這個幅員廣大、持續發展中的國家的許多其他小城一樣，涪陵正在改換作風，邁向一條新路──一條變化萬千、生氣蓬勃的路，一條充滿張力和改革的路，一條混亂和成長的路。

　　當彼得．海斯勒以和平工作團志工的身分抵達涪陵，使得該城半個多世紀以來首次有美國人居住，該城處於轉折點的處境就顯得十分清楚了。海斯勒在當地一所師範專科學校教英美文學，然而他的學生也教導他涪陵的生活方式──以及一個人投入截然不同的社會時，所經歷的複雜了解過程。《消失中的江城》有尖銳、深刻的見解，有縝密的思考，充滿趣味，且十分耐人尋味。它以令人難忘的方式描繪了一個和中國一樣，正在努力了解自己的現狀及未來的城市。

　　彼得．海斯勒(Peter Hessler) 長期為《國家地理雜誌》、《華爾街日報》、《紐約時報》等撰稿，自1991年即定居於北京，擔任《紐約客》駐中國記者。他生長於密蘇西里州的哥倫比亞市，在普林斯頓主修英文和寫作，並取得牛津大學英國文學碩士。曾自助旅遊歐洲三十國，畢業後更從布拉格出發，由水陸兩路橫越俄國、中國到泰國，跑完半個地球，也由此開啟了他的旅遊文學寫作之路。海斯勒散見於各大雜誌的旅遊文學作品，數度獲得美國最佳旅遊寫作獎。《消失中的江城》一推出即獲得「奇里雅瑪環太平洋圖書獎」，最新旅遊文學力作《甲骨文》並入圍2006年美國「國家圖書獎」非小說類最佳作品。

A New York Times Notable Book

Winner of the Kiriyama Book Prize

In the heart of China's Sichuan province, amid the terraced hills of the Yangtze River valley, lies the remote town of Fuling. Like many other small cities in this ever-evolving country, Fuling is heading down a new path of change and growth, which came into remarkably sharp focus when Peter Hessler arrived as a Peace Corps volunteer, marking the first time in more than half a century that the city had an American resident. Hessler taught English and American literature at the local college, but it was his students who taught him about the complex processes of understanding that take place when one is immersed in a radically different society.

Poignant, thoughtful, funny, and enormously compelling, River Town is an unforgettable portrait of a city that is seeking to understand both what it was and what it someday will be.