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The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China
| Title | The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China |
| Writer | |
| Date | 2025-04-01 08:22:45 |
| Type | |
| Link | Listen Read |
Desciption
As any traveler knows, some of the best and most honest conversations take place during car rides. So, when a long-time NPR correspondent wanted to learn more about the real China, he started driving a cab--and discovered a country amid seismic political and economic change.China--America's most important competitor--is at a turning point. With economic growth slowing, Chinese people face inequality and uncertainty as their leaders tighten control at home and project power abroad.In this adventurous, original book, NPR correspondent Frank Langfitt describes how he created a free taxi service--offering rides in exchange for illuminating conversation--to go beyond the headlines and get to know a wide range of colorful, compelling characters representative of the new China. They include folks like "Beer," a slippery salesman who tries to sell Langfitt a used car; Rocky, a farm boy turned Shanghai lawyer; and Chen, who runs an underground Christian church and moves his family to America in search of a better, freer life.Blending unforgettable characters, evocative travel writing, and insightful political analysis, The Shanghai Free Taxi is a sharply observed and surprising book that will help readers make sense of the world's other superpower at this extraordinary moment. Read more
Review
Free rides for conversation. In an attempt to solve the problem of covering a country whose people are not open to talking to strangers much less, foreign journalists, Frank Langfitt figures out a way. While covering Shanghai for NPR, he bought a car and put magnets on it, advertising that he was willing to give people a ride in exchange for conversation. The concept is unique but the execution is nothing short of miraculous. Driving 500 miles deep into rural China, to take a van load of people to their weddings, shows true dedication. Helping a woman find her missing sister in the Golden Triangle, where drugs and women are regularly trafficked, blew my mind. I still think about Crystal and what she went through.The people and their narratives still linger with me. The story telling makes them relatable and likable. Read the book to meet, Beer Horse, the used car salesman who would stop at nothing to sell a car. And Chen the pajama salesman who runs an underground church. His dream is to get his daughters into a more Christian world. Nonfiction that reads like a novel. I found myself chuckling, gasping, and wondering how in the hell he got his passengers to share so many personal details. It’s like Humans of New York and Taxicab confessions but in China and with so much more meaningful analysis. No small task. Frank Langfitt connects with a subset of his passengers and follows them through the years and all over the globe. He takes the reader through the highs and lows of the China dream. They open up to him about their hopes and regrets, successes and failures, and their continued search for honesty, integrity, and spiritualism in an otherwise corrupt, oppressive, and polluted environment. I highly recommend that you get into the taxi and enjoy the journey.
