Book buzz: what reviewers are saying

OLYMPIC DREAMS:
China and Sports, 1985-2008
By Xu Guoqi / Harvard University Press
“[P]olitics have long been at the heart of China’s relations with the modern Olympic movement, as Xu Guoqi, an associate professor at Kalamazoo College, shows in his illuminating history, ‘Olympic Dreams.’ ”
– EDWARD CODY, The Washington Post

THE TEN MOST BEAUTIFUL EXPERIMENTS
By George Johnson / Knopf
“[G]eorge Johnson, who writes about science for The New York Times, tells us these stories in a smooth, conversational style. He nicely captures the drudgery and frustrations of scientific experimentation and gives us important insights about cutting-edge lab work.”
– PHILLIP MANNING, The Cleveland Plain Dealer

THE GOD OF WAR
By Marisa Silver / Simon and Schuster
“Of the many qualities to recommend Marisa Silver’s novel ‘The God of War,’ one is the artful way it suggests the coexistence of love, longing and violence.... ‘The God of War’ offers calm wisdom ... it is a rare and meaningful book.”
– AMITY GAIGE, The Chicago Tribune