Here’s the Wall Street Journal‘s review of the book, as well as a review in the South China Morning Post. Additionally, a story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Journal‘s thoughtful review begins:

‘In Manchuria’ is not a typical book about China. It is not about the booming of cities, the nouveau riche or the holders of power. It has no investment advice to offer and does not predict whether China will take over the world. It contains gripping anecdotes from the past, but it is not a work of history. What it is is a fine book to lose yourself in on a winter’s night, imagining yourself in a Manchurian farmhouse warmed with burning rice stalks or on a hard-seat train rumbling across the landscape. It is a book to read if you ever dreamed of joining the Peace Corps but didn’t. It is a travel memoir with a strong literary bent, weaving together history and reportage. It is a book about China, yes, and Manchuria, but it is also about being a foreigner in a faraway country and about the limits of such a life.