Title: Swallowing clouds
Description: 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."
Subjects: Anecdotes, Social life and customs, Food habits, Manners and customs
Places: China