In 1987, the Chinese periodical Sports Vision ran a story praising Susan Brownell as “the American girl who warmly loves Chinese sports” (p. 17). During the last two decades, Brownell has lived up to this characterization, becoming the most influential American scholar in the field of contemporary Chinese sport. I was pleased to learn that Brownell would be publishing a book during the run-up to this year's Olympic Games in Beijing, expecting (as the volume's high-profile back cover blurbers Jonathan Spence, Bob Costas, and Allen Guttmann agree) that this work would provide most Westerners with their best chance to learn more about the rich and complex field of Chinese sport and its relationship to the Olympic movement.
The work begins with a very personal chapter by Brownell on her relationship to Chinese sport as an athlete, scholar, and active participant in “China's Olympic Dream,” and the author makes a convincing...
