Blending East and West: Understanding the Changing Chinese Society by Eileen Tsang, Mike Igoe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this one written by two colleagues with different, but able backgrounds. The blend of writing styles works here.

Tsang is the more academic scholar from Hong Kong, and Igoe is the veteran television journalist. Together, their styles mix well to tell an interesting story of what is going on in China. This is essentially a galley of a classroom-bound book, but can read well beyond school assignments here.

The combination reminds me a little of Larry Collins and Dominic LaPierre, who wrote "Is Paris Burning?" and "Or I'll Dress You in Mourning," and several other successes.

It is too early to tell if their combined efforts will achieve such heights, but they might be worth keeping an eye on.

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PacMan by Gary Poole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I grabbed this one at the Hong Kong airport, and had gone through 56 pages before arriving in Northern Samar -- down in the Philippines where it all originated.

It made a difference. Reading about Manny Pacquiao in his home country. Words come to life, making Poole's smooth copy flow like a rapid river, rushing down a mountain.

I finished the 320 plus pages in just a few days.

A young boy helped illustrate where the PacMan comes from with his constant donations to the poor. The boy, about 8, kept talking to his grandmother in the van from near the airport in Western Samar as we headed north. My wife noticed something, but I didn't see it until the boy stepped out to let another passenger exit.

He smiled at me when he got back in -- complete with teeth showing through an untreated harelip. Something you are not likely to see in the U.S. or more developed countries.

Pacquiao might have handed over the operation money right away. You can do things like that when you win big fights, and make money from endorsements.



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