Peggy Bickford

The Cuckoo Comes at Harvest: Two "Old Heads" on a Chinese Campus Peggy Bickford

The people of Xingtai were fortunate to have had Peggy Bickford teach them about the English language and American life, just as we are fortunate to have her fine book The Cuckoo Comes at Harvest to educate us about life in the rural town of Xingtai, China.

This evenhanded description of a small Chinese town offers an interesting contrast to life in the metropolitan Chinese cities most commonly pictured. Xingtai is typical of places where the masses of Chinese people live and this is how they live. In addition to the lucid text, the 42 illustrations give an intimate view of living and working conditions in contemporary inland China and a sympathetic look at the people. This valuable and worthwhile book is a must for anyone interested in modern China.