Mark Salzman - Iron and Silk

Pros: Beautifully written, compelling narrative, touching, humorous
Cons: may be difficult to find in print

I read Salzman's Iron and Silk ten years ago in school - and to this day I still think it is one of the best and most moving books I have read.

The book was assigned as part of a year-long curriculum on China - to prepare my class for the trip...

Pros: Real life story, wonderfully written, engaging, vivid. Everything a great novel should be.
Cons: More people haven't read it.

In Mark Salzman's "Iron & Silk," you are taken by a young man to the far away play of Hunan Province, China. Salzman relates his story of being an English teacher, at a Yale-exchange program, at Hunan Medical College during...

Pros: The best book to read if you are coming to China, excellent writing
Cons: none

I was sitting in my apartment in China with this book in my hands - I had been in China less than two months on my first foreign trip when a friend recommended this book to me. I started to read it and realized that this is the book I should have read...

Pros: fun, entertaining, descriptive
Cons: the teacher goes to China to teach English but seems to only do martial arts

Iron and Silk is a very interesting and entertaining book, written by a young university graduate who is brave enough to search out his dreams and live out a boyhood fantasy of learning wushu in China.

Mark Salzman's experiences in China as an...

Pros: Interesting look at Chinese culture.
Cons: Uneventful.

An English teacher goes to China to teach because he knows Chinese and is interested in the culture. This book illustrates the culture of China and the lifestyles of the people well but does not keep the readers attention. The content is interesting when...

Pros: Great book, it really makes one feel as if they are in China.
Cons: Hardly any, almost a flawless book

This book is amazing. It not only gives a feel of modern day China, but also gives a very in depth view of life in modern day China. I have always been interested in Chinese culture and Chinese martial arts, such as kung-fu and tai-chi, but also have...