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.

Describes, in brief text and illustrations, a year in the life of a river bank town and the many changes that occur throughout the seasons.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, small towns sprouted up along the banks of America's rivers. Through a year of changing seasons the reader is transported to the days when people's livelihoods were directly connected to the river. The life of the townsfolk is shown to be an accumulation of events both large and small, from a joyous Halloween parade to the frozen river in winter to the threat of damaging springtime floods. Children and adults alike will pour over these pages of intricate etchings, noticing the changes and happenings of day-to-day, season-to-season life lived along a river. As they did in Prairie Town, the Geiserts have once again created a stunning tribute to small-town America as it once was and, to an extent, still remains today.

The story of New Baltimore, New York, a small Hudson River town, and how outside pressures and local hard work have combined to forge a lasting community

An overview of everyday life in the cities of the central Mississippi River Valley between 1820 and 1870, when the river was the primary means of transportation.

The tragic accidental drowning of Thomas’ younger brother results in the decimation of his family. Thomas’ father, unable to deal with the loss, turns to violence and alcohol, and his mother, as an attempt to extricate herself from the abuse, makes a failed attempt to kill his father, sending her to prison. Thomas spends the rest of his life attempting to assuage his guilt, as he blames himself for the death of his brother. He seeks peace initially through life in a monastery, subsequently moving to London where he meets Iris, through whom he achieves a partial healing. The story of Rivertown reflects the meaningful contrast between hardship and prosperity in which the outcome of relative coexistence within such differences may result in an appreciation of natural truth and virtue.