IN MANCHURIA

Michael Meyer

Bloomsbury, 384 pages, Rs 499

Combining memoir, reporting and research, Meyer presents a unique profile of China’s north-east. For three years, Meyer lived in the rice-farming community of Wasteland, his wife’s hometown. His personal saga mirrors some of the tremendous changes underway in much of rural China. In Wasteland, a private rice company has built new roads, introduced organic farming, and constructed high-rise apartments—which farmers can move into in exchange for their land rights.