Into The Dragon’s Mouth

Ben Wood is a larger than life figure, an American architect who re-imagined both the heart of New York and the heart of Shanghai and in this unique memoir, he tells a thousand outrageous and wonderful stories from the back blocks of the American South in the 1950s through to the glittering skylines of the 21st century. His design of the Xintiandi area of Shanghai set the standard for urban renewal across all of China’s cities, but that’s just the beginning of the amazing tales he has to tell in Into The Dragon’s Mouth. A post-war Huckleberry Finn growing up in Georgia, Ben drove across the country while in high school, partook in the Summer of Love, and flew Phantom fighter jets with the USAF in Europe at the height of the Cold War. But his life’s work has been the re-imagining of urban life. Ben’s approach to architectural design is unique and the stories around all he has done are colorful, thought-provoking and emotionally-driven. Through this marvelous book, redolent of the style of the great Southern story-tellers, Ben Wood weaves a deep wisdom and philosophy, as well as perspectives on China and the United States from one who has seen and done far more than most.