This book tends to wander a bit. However, it's a good read on China's past, present & future. I hope to find Red Bayberry St. in May. ( )

Excellent memoir of life in a hutong in Beijing. These neighborhoods are disappearing and were especially in peril before the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Meyer presents a compelling portrait of the people and lifestyle but it's almost completely one-sided. It's still a moving picture of how easily we can elide that which used to be commonplace. ( )

I've traveled to Beijing and wandered the old hutongs (alleyways), which led me to purchase and read "The Last Days of Old Beijing." Because of that experience I found the book fascinating, if sometimes frustratingly jam-packed with tangents and miscellaneous information. (Rather like a hutong now that I think of it!)

The author is a fluent Chinese-speaker, having learned the language as a Peace Corps volunteer in the mid-1990s. He returns to China to live in the community of Dazhalan in Beijing, which dates back to the 1400s and contains 114 individual hutongs. Meyer's book documents the destruction of Beijing's historic neighborhoods, which accelerates as the 2008 Olympics approach.

Meyer's writing is at it's most evocative and compelling when he writes about his experience living on Red Bayberry and Bamboo Slanted Street and teaching English at Coal Lane Elementary. The further he goes from his own experience, the more erratic and disjointed his narrative becomes. Even in the face of its flaws, I'd still recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a better sense of what China is like these days. And given the intertwined relationship between the US and China in terms of both finances and world politics, that's more relevant than ever. ( )

Loved the book! Meyer's style is easy to read and easy to imagine being there. It's sad to learn of the destruction of so many Beijing neighborhoods and how it affected community life. Meyers includes a lot of historical background in each chapter which provides much context. ( )