Evan Osnos was The New Yorker's staff writer in Beijing from 2008 to 2013 and that experience provided the vantage point that resulted in his book, Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China.

Osno's ambitious book was one of three finalists in the 2015 Pulitizer Prize category for non-fiction.

To tell the story of the New China, Osnos looks at everyday people and their challenges. The book is such a revealing work that it won the 2014 National Book Award for nonfiction and was on The Economist's list of "Best Books of 2014."

Age of Ambition is not just about the conversion of China's Mao economy to one of Western-style pursuit of wealth, it also examines the human factor. In praising the book, respected Kirkus Reviews wrote that the author discovered "that the Chinese are just as ingenious at finding ways to circumvent authoritative repression as they are at filling the spiritual vacuum left by the cult of Mao."

He is a veteran reporter, having been on a Pulitzer Prize-winning team at the Chicago Tribune in 2008. He also has a family heritage in reporting - he was born in London when his parents were visiting there from Moscow where his dad, Peter Osnos, was correspondent for The Washington Post.

The online site Work in Progress published a conversation about journalism the two had in 2014.