Swallowing Clouds: A Playful Journey Through Chinese Culture, Language, and Cuisine: Swallowing Clouds

Physics professor Zee writes about how to understand the menus in Chinese restaurants, explaining the characters, what they mean, and the colorful stories behind the names of various dishes. Anne Tyler (in the "Washington Post") called "Swallowing Clouds" "a study of the very nature of Chinese culture. Zee has a quirky, personal style that draws the reader in."