Street of Eternal Happiness, Rob Schmitz
Street of Eternal Happiness, Rob Schmitz
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Street of Eternal Happiness
Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road

Author: Rob Schmitz

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Unabridged: 12 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/05/2016

Synopsis

Modern Shanghai: a global city in the midst of a renaissance, where dreamers arrive each day to partake in a mad torrent of capital, ideas, and opportunity. Marketplace's Rob Schmitz is one of them. He immerses himself in his neighborhood, forging deep relationships with ordinary people who see in the city's sleek skyline a brighter future, and a chance to rewrite their destinies. There's Zhao, whose path from factory floor to shopkeeper is sidetracked by her desperate measures to ensure a better future for her sons. Down the street lives Auntie Fu, a fervent capitalist forever trying to improve herself with religion and get-rich-quick schemes while keeping her skeptical husband at bay. Up a flight of stairs, musician and café owner CK sets up shop to attract young dreamers like himself but learns he's searching for something more.

A tale of twenty-first-century China, Street of Eternal Happiness profiles China's distinct generations through multifaceted characters who illuminate an enlightening, humorous, and at times heartrending journey along the winding road to the Chinese Dream.

About Rob Schmitz

Rob Schmitz is the China correspondent for American Public Media's Marketplace, the largest business news program in the U.S., with more than 12 million listeners a week. He has reported on a range of topics illustrating China's role in the global economy, including trade, politics, the environment, education, and labor. In 2012, Schmitz exposed fabrications in Mike Daisey's account of Apple's Chinese supply chain on This American Life, and his report headlined that show's much-discussed "Retraction" episode. The work was a finalist for the 2012 Investigative Reporters and Editors Award. He has won two national Edward R. Murrow Awards and an award from the Education Writers Association for his reporting on China. Schmitz first arrived to the country in 1996 as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Sichuan province.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Made by Caroline on April 11, 2021

3.5⭐️......more

Goodreads review by Laura on March 16, 2016

What a terrific book. I became deeply absorbed in it almost immediately. The life stories of the Chinese people on just one block is fascinating. There is no way I can do this book justice. Anyone who is into sociology or who just wants an amazing and incredibly researched non-fiction title will lov......more

Goodreads review by Polly on October 06, 2019

I love any book that helps me understand the place that I have called home for almost 12 years. The author digs deep into the personal histories of shopkeepers and residents who live on Changle Lu, in the Former French Concession. You will find yourself admiring every single person he meets for the......more

Goodreads review by David on May 20, 2017

4.25 stars. I probably would have rated this 5 stars if I hadn't previously read Peter Hessler's China trilogy ([URL not allowed] [URL not allowed] [URL not allowed]). I really liked everything about the contents of this book, I jus......more

Goodreads review by Rosemary on October 25, 2020

Journalist Rob Schmitz’s sensitive and very personal engagement with his characters and the city of Shanghai make ‘Street of Eternal Happiness’ an absolute joy to read. For any reader wanting to explore and experience the richness of modern China and ponder the complexity and legacy of Mao’s rule, t......more

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