Frank Carlson Library

Pearl S. Buck's epic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of a China that was -- now in a Contemporary Classics edition. Though more than sixty years have passed since this remarkable novel won the Pulitzer Prize, it has retained its popularity and become one of the great modern classics. "I can only write what I know, and I know nothing but China, having always lived there," wrote Pearl Buck. In The Good Earth she presents a graphic view of a China when...

A man returns to his native China to find upheaval in both his homeland and his family in this novel by a New York Times–bestselling author.
On the eve of a popular rebellion, the Chinese government starts to crack down in cities across the country. Fleeing the turmoil, Wang Yuan, the son of a famous general and grandson of the patriarch of The Good Earth, leaves for America to study agriculture. When he returns to...

As a spirit of nationalism inspired by Chiang Kai-shek's leadership begins to sweep through China, the river gunship San Pablo is ordered to patrol the region and to protect U.S. citizens. The crew of the ship is soon drawn into an international conflict when the Chinese Nationalists begin trying to expel the "foreign devils" from their shores. The conflict not only serves to illustrate the divide between east and west but also causes a rift between...

A brief history of the Great Wall of China, begun about 2,200 years ago to keep out Mongol invaders.

When a Chinese National working for an American-owned construction company is grabbed off the streets of Shanghai in broad daylight and his one-man security detail goes missing, the security firm Rutherford Risk hires two unique outsiders to locate the two hostages ahead of the deadline.

Paul Theroux, the author of the train travel classics The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express, takes to the rails once again in this account of his epic journey through China. He hops aboard as part of a tour group in London and sets out for China's border. He then spends a year traversing the country, where he pieces together a fascinating snapshot of a unique moment in history. From the barren deserts of Xinjiang to the ice forests...

The "emotions, identities, and relationships of three very different American women living in same small expat community in Hong Kong ... As each woman struggles with her own demons, their lives collide in ways that have irreversible consequences for them all."-- Three very different American women livie in the same small expat community in Hong Kong. Mercy, a young Korean American and recent Columbia graduate, is adrift, undone by a terrible incident...

"Shanghai, 1935. Rowland Sinclair arrives from Sydney, Australia, to represent his brother at international wool negotiations. A novice to global commerce, Rowland is under strict instructions to keep a low profile...but that soon becomes next to impossible. A beautiful Russian taxi girl-who once claimed to be the princess, Anastasia, and who danced in Rowland's arms the night before-is found slain in his suite. It's no surprise that suspicion falls...

"Judge Dee Renjie, Empress Wu's newly appointed Imperial Circuit Supervisor for the Tang Empire, is visiting provinces surrounding the grand capital of Chang'an. One night a knife is thrown through his window with a cryptic note attached: 'A high-flying dragon will have something to regret!' Minutes after the ominous warning appears, Judge Dee is approached by an emissary of Internal Minister Wu, Empress Wu's nephew. Minister Wu wants Judge Dee to...

"Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers. The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall of China. It doesn't matter that the girls die from the mental strain. When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible...