Beijing Bookshelves: Evan Osnos of the New Yorker

We asked notable Beijingers: "What's on your bookshelf?" Here's how Evan Osnos, China correspondent for the New Yorker magazine, answered:

My favorite book from childhood was Flashman in the Great Game, by George MacDonald Fraser.

A book that changed my life was A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan.

The last book I read was Boss by Mike Royko, which is basically about authoritarianism.

The best book about China I’ve read is To Change China by Jonathan Spence.

My favorite book in Chinese is 英格力士 by 王刚 (English by Wang Gang)

The book that has the most sentimental value for me is A Great Adventure by Carroll Sherer, my grandmother.

I’d like to peek at the bookshelf of Hu Jintao.

Have I ever judged a book by its cover? Yes, Barbara Demick's book: Nothing To Envy. It has a fantastic cover, and the contents surpass it.

Evan Osnos will appear at 12.30 pm today (Wednesday, March 10) at the Bookworm International Literary Festival session Committing Journalism, alongside Jonathan Watts of The Guardian, and Jane Macartney of The Times, as they wrangle over the challenges, opportunities, pitfalls and highlights of writing on China for audiences overseas. RMB 50.