The story of a journey in time takes a young, sensitive American engineer up the Yangtse River by junk to see for himself where a dam could be built. To an American the preposterousness of delays, the indifference of the Chinese to the human element even when it involved death, all add up to something more vital than hurry and the miles of hydro-electric promises ahead. Against the saga of the journey the story is slight and there is left only the faint hope that time would find the answer and that superstition and dedication to the past must change. A short book and a memorable reading experience.