Beijing Welcomes You: Unveiling the Capital City of the Future Review

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Beijing Welcomes You: Unveiling the Capital City of the Future ReviewJournalist Tom Scocca spent several years in Beijing prior to the 2008 Olympics and wrote about his observations in this book. He is a fairly good writer and parts of the book make for a moderately entertaining read. But he really doesn't tell us very much about Beijing that is interesting or surprising. Often, Scocca only seems to be scratching the surface of the events and people that he describes without getting at their deeper cultural and historical roots.
Many of Socca's observations are the kinds of things that any tourist who has been to Beijing would notice. He begins by telling us that the "first important fact to know about China is that it has a lot of Chinese people." No, really!?! And here I thought that the capitol city of the most populous nation in the world was virtually empty. He also spends a lot of time talking about the basic architecture of Beijing, pollution and other things that anybody who has spent even a short time in China would be familiar with.
I have nothing against Scocca. He didn't say anything that was outright wrong or offensive. But he doesn't quite have his finger on the pulse of Chinese society to the same degree that Peter Hessler (River Town, Oracle Bones, Country Driving) or, to a lesser degree, Robert Gifford (China Road) and Simon Winchester (The Man Who Loved China) do. If you want to read a journalistic account of social change in contemporary Chinese society I would recommend one of those books over Scocca's.
"Beijing Welcomes You" isn't a bad read. I wonder why Amazon made it a "Book of the Month" over Ezra Vogel's forthcoming biography of Deng Xiaoping and Aaron Friedberg's recent "A Contest for Supremacy," however. Both of these promise to be considerably more insightful and more likely to teach us something about China's rise that we didn't know already.Beijing Welcomes You: Unveiling the Capital City of the Future Overview

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Madden: A Biography Review

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Madden: A Biography ReviewMADDEN is a deftly crafted biography that skillfully portrays the uniquely complex character of pro football's John Madden. At times this bio reads like exciting fiction, tactfully urging the reader to keep turning the pages.
Mr. Burwell brilliantly captures both the physical and mental demons that haunt John Madden's life. The incessant drive that motivates the subject is examined in captivating detail.
The description of Mr. Madden's induction into the Football Hall of Fame is truly mesmerizing. The excerpt of his acceptance speech will evoke both cheers and tears from the reader.

Since I am in my mid-60's, I'm familiar in a general way with John Madden's career. Consequently I was able to appreciate and relate to MADDEN from cover to cover.
Kudos to Bryan Burwell for creating such an enjoyable literary achievement.
Madden: A Biography OverviewSeveral years after his playing career was cut short by injury before it had a chance to really begin, John Madden was hired as an assistant coach by the Oakland Raiders, one of professional football s most iconoclastic franchises. Two years later he was named the team s head coach and proceeded to lead the Raiders to five championship games in his first seven seasons. Following years of heartbreaking losses in some of history s most memorable games including the Immaculate Reception against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1972 Madden and the Raiders finally reached the mountaintop, winning Super Bowl XI and giving Oakland its first title. One year later, Madden abruptly left the game he loved, retiring with the second-best winning percentage in NFL history.Had John Madden s football career ended there, his life would still be remarkable. The fact that it was only just beginning has made him an American icon and a beloved legend to millions of fans across the globe.In Madden, longtime sports columnist Bryan Burwell has written the first comprehensive biography of this living legend. From his days as a star athlete in Daly City, California, Madden was driven to succeed, a trait that helped him persevere during his tumultuous years with the Raiders under Al Davis and compelled him to try his hand at broadcasting after his coaching career was over. Madden s incredible football knowledge, down-home sensibilities, and tireless work ethic made him arguably the most popular sports analyst in any sport and led to a long and storied career as a TV pitchman. In the third stage of his public life, the Hall of Fame coach became known to new generations of fans through his eponymous line of groundbreaking video games, which are among the best-selling titles of all time.Madden is an entertaining, enlightening, and often poignant look back at the life of one of the greatest coaches, broadcasters, and beloved ambassadors the game has ever known.

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