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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Yao, the 7'5" Chinese NBA center, charms readers with the same grace and humility that have made him one of basketball's most mediagenic personalities. Coauthored by Bucher, an ESPN the Magazine writer, the book includes short sections by Yao's Houston Rockets teammates and managers, but its driving voice is 23-year-old Yao's. The language is simple, sincere and often funny as Yao jokes about Wilt Chamberlain's reputation as a ladies' man and presents a view of himself as a blue-collar worker ("I sweat for my paycheck"). The book follows Yao's career in China, the bureaucratic struggles involved in getting him to the U.S., and his experiences on the court, including what it was like to play against Shaq. Though there's lots of basketball talk, the book's most compelling sections address the clash of cultures, such as the time when Yao's former team, the Shanghai Sharks, banned one of Yao's representatives from negotiating because he was white. Yao clearly loves his native country and says his greatest dream is to lead China's national team to an Olympic gold medal. But with millions in endorsement deals, the adoration of fans across the globe and this earnest book, it's clear he's living out the American dream, too. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
The seven-foot-four-inch Yao, all-star center with the Houston Rockets, is the best basketball player ever to come out of China. This as-told-to autobiography covers the usual ground: Yao's youth as the son of two outstanding Chinese baskestball players; his enrollment in the Chinese basketball pipeline and subsequent international success; and his decision to try the NBA. What sets the book apart from similar sports bios is Yao's comparison of Chinese culture with the one to which he's adapting in the U.S. For example, he contrasts the freewheeling NBA sexual lifestyle versus his own chaste courtship of a player on the Chinese women's national team. He also displays a sly sense of humor, digging playfully at NBA broadcaster Bill Walton by noting that Yao's translator has no idea what Walton is talking about. Coauthor Bucher, a first-generation American whose initial language was German, adds context to Yao's story with his own experience assimilating a new culture. This will be a very pleasant surprise for readers expecting the usual and-then-we-played memoir manufactured to capitalize on the popularity of a young superstar. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Product Details
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More About the Author
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
My name is Yao Ming. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
junior national team, junior team, national team coach, army team Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Yao Ming, Wang Zhi Zhi, Liu Wei, Shanghai Sharks, Team Yao, All-Star Game, Bayi Rockets, Wang Fei, Houston Rockets, Asian Championships, New York, Mengke Bateer, Michael Jordan, South Korea, United States, Zhuge Liang, Rookie of the Year, Asian Games, Fan Bin, San Diego, Shanghai Media Group, Charles Barkley, Coach Smith, Golden State, Jiao Jian New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
My name is Yao Ming. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
junior national team, junior team, national team coach, army team Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Yao Ming, Wang Zhi Zhi, Liu Wei, Shanghai Sharks, Team Yao, All-Star Game, Bayi Rockets, Wang Fei, Houston Rockets, Asian Championships, New York, Mengke Bateer, Michael Jordan, South Korea, United States, Zhuge Liang, Rookie of the Year, Asian Games, Fan Bin, San Diego, Shanghai Media Group, Charles Barkley, Coach Smith, Golden State, Jiao Jian New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
books:
- Mastering the Art of War (Shambhala Dragon Editions) by Zhuge Liang on page 13
- Yao Ming (Benchmark All-Stars) by Michael Bradley in Front Matter
- Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel by Dai Sijie in Front Matter
- The Politics of Diplomacy by James A. Baker III on page 123
Books on Related Topics
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
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78% buy the item featured on this page: YAO: A Life in Two Worlds $22.95 |
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7% buy Lebron James NBA Reader (NBA Readers)$3.99 |
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5% buy Operation Yao Ming: The Chinese Sports Empire, American Big Business, and the Making of an NBA Superstar $26.00 |
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2% buy Yao Ming: The Road to the NBA $18.95 |
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