Yao: A life in Two Worlds FROM OUR EDITORS
Yao Ming first won media notice as a curiosity: At 7'5" the Shanghai teenager was the tallest person in China. Then he developed into a basketball legend. At the 2002 NBA draft, he became the first foreign player in history ever selected as a No. 1 pick. At first, veteran sports reporters questioned the rookie's ability to adjust to his new league's rougher, quicker style of play, but Yao learned quickly. Winning over fans and skeptical teammates, the Houston Rockets center became an NBA all-star and a towering international sports hero and media star. In Yao, this pro basketball phenomenon tells his story for the first time.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Since Yao Ming's electrifying NBA debut with the Houston Rockets in 2002,
the 7-foot-5 Chinese center has appeared in numerous TV commercials, on magazine
covers, and in countless basketball-highlights reels. And yet, despite Yao's
status as one of the country's most recognizable sports stars, the remarkable
story of how a shy, gangly kid from Shanghai went on to become the NBA's first
foreign-born and developed #1 draft pick has remained, until now, largely
unknown.
With this memoir, Yao reveals himself as a thoughtful, opinionated young man
whose insights extend far beyond the basketball court. He paints a compelling
portrait of how his parents, both former Chinese basketball stars and fully
aware of the bleak outlook for ex-players, resisted the Chinese government's
interest in steering their son into the sport as a child. But the love of the
game took hold of Yao as a teenager, and he began to sense both his own
potential and the restraints he would face from the bureaucrats who ran the
sport. As Yao's success in China grew, it became clear that his future would be
with the NBA. But nothing came easily. With riveting detail, Yao recounts the
white-knuckle gamesmanship required to win the approval of Chinese officials for
his leap to America.
Yao: A Life in Two Worlds vividly chronicles Yao's move from Shanghai to
Houston: The sudden millionaire has to learn how to drive his newly acquired
car; the young man who has only ever had one girlfriend tries to make sense of
pro-basketball's hard-partying life off-court; the supremely dominant player in
China is transformed into an NBA rookie unnerved at the prospect of facing
Shaquille O'Neal. But soon enough, aided by his easygoing manner and sense of
humor that has proved so appealing to fans, Yao finds his moorings and
flourishes as a major NBA star with a worldwide following.
Sports writer Ric Bucher spent hundreds of hours in conversation with Yao in
the U.S. and China, closely tracking the player's feelings and observations
during that historic first season with the Rockets. Yao: A Life in Two Worlds is
an inspiring account of how one man's faith in himself, hard work, and drive
have taken him from national success story to international icon-and helped
build a bridge between two countries.
About the authors:
Yao Ming is twenty-three years old and plays center for the Houston Rockets.
He lives in Houston, Texas.
Ric Bucher is a
senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.
FROM THE CRITICS
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. Agent, Jon Liebman. (Sept.) Forecast: Miramax plans ads, national media appearances and a 10-city drive-time tour, although the book's largest audience may be in Houston. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
As a player for the Houston Rockets, Yao Ming came within a hair of winning the National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award for the 2003-04 season. This is only his second season in the league, yet he now has an autobiography, and it doesn't seem all that strange. Yao, a former star of the Chinese Basketball Association, is seven and a half feet tall and the first real Asian presence in the NBA. His book was written with the assistance of ESPN magazine columnist Bucher, whose prose is journalistic in the best sense of the word: economical yet descriptive. Owing to Yao's limited English, it is difficult to determine what effect Bucher had on the text. In any case, it's fun to read about Yao's experiences in the NBA and America in the context of Chinese culture. Yao loves his motherland (he still plays for the national team), and is open and honest about what limitations, advantages, and disadvantages there are to being Chinese in an American game. Large, interview-like quotes with Ming's friends and family give the story rich detail. Recommended for most sports collections at public libraries.-James Miller, Springfield Coll. Lib., MA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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