"FORWARD TO BEIJING! A GUIDE TO THE SUMMER OLYMPICS" by Verner Bickley

ISBN 978-988-99668-3-6. 260pp. + 18 b/w illustrations. Pbk. 210c. x140c. Published 29 February 2008. Olympic Games. Sport. Sport History. English Language. Forward to Beijing: A Guide to the Summer Olympics by Verner Bickley: Explains for each Olympic Sport: the rules; the special terms & vocabulary. Lists: impressive Olympiad achievements of the past. Contains: fascinating insights into the history of the Games. Showcases: the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the events that took place in Hong Kong. Provides: useful phrases, quizzes & conversational openers.

Comments from some early reviews:

• Appeals across age and gender, designed for longevity. "Will appeal to the adult "armchair enthusiast" seeking to get the most out of televised events." (Vincent Heywood, Chinese Cross Currents, Volume 5, No. 3, July 2008, pp. 137-139. Bilingual quarterly published by Macau Ricci Institute.)

• "Comprehensive and scholarly." (Hong Kong Magazine, No. 724, Friday, 28 March 2008.)

  "The idea is noble: encourage visitors to embrace the symbolic gesture of this third Asian summer Olympiad -- international goodwill, cooperation and peace." --

• "Quite good � (4 stars)" (Alvin T., Mobipocket website, 15 July 2008.)

  "Useful information on virtually all olympic sports. Teaches special terms/vocab. Creative quizzes and conversation dialogues. Good book:) ."

• "Informative and useful � (5 stars)" (Tong Ho Yin, Mobipocket website,�15 July 2008.)

  "This book tells me all I need to know about the Beijing Olympics, from its history to its rules, to advice on how to make conversations with other visitors & hosts. Extremely informative."

Forward to Beijing! A Guide to the Summer Olympics contains:

• Message from Timothy Fok, President of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China.
• Preface by The Hon. Dr Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales, GBM, JP, Honorary Life President of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China.
• "A Big Idea" by Chris Wardlaw, Head Coach, Australian Track and Field Team, 2000 Olympic Games.

Beginning on 8 August 2008, the twenty-ninth Summer Olympic Games were held in Beijing, The People's Republic of China. This was only the third time ever that this test and celebration of human endeavour has taken place in Asia.

Forward to Beijing! A Guide to the Summer Olympics gives a brief history of the Games from their ancient origins in Greece to their revival in 1896. It surveys some of the triumphs enjoyed and difficulties encountered by the Olympic Movement over time and gives some of the highlights of Olympiads held from 1896 to 1984, including details of those athletes who won more than one gold medal each in any single one of these early modern Olympiads.

The Games first took place in Asia in 1964, in Tokyo, Japan, returning in 1988, twenty-four years later, this time to Seoul, Korea. Taking 1988 as a starting point, therefore, Forward to Beijing! gives a detailed account of several important aspects of the Olympic Games. Each of the twenty-eight Olympic sports from "Aquatics" to "Wrestling" is described with definitions of some of the special terms used and explanations of the rules that govern these sports, together with their associated disciplines. Here also, for every single Olympic sport, are the names of gold medal winners at these Games, and information about the country they represented.

Forward to Beijing! records many of the actions that the City of Beijing and the PRC undertook to ensure the success of the 2008 Games.

Somewhat light-heartedly, but also usefully, it features a number of situational conversations (with vocabulary and phrase book sections), all of which can be helpful for visitors to the Summer Games as well as for residents who wish to communicate with foreign visitors � of whatever nationality � in English but who have had little prior experience, to communicate more effectively.

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Also instantly available, downloaded to your computer or mobile device, in an E-book edition: Forward to Beijing! A Guide to the Summer Olympics.

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