Operation Yao Ming: The Chinese Sports Empire, American Big Business, and the Making of an NBA Superstar by Brook Larmer 2005

This is a great book about 7'5" Yao Ming's journey from the sports camp in Shanghai to the NBA. It's a fascinating read about how Red China did sports back in the day.  I got in lots of extra detail from the Taoster, whose cousin was a ping pong sports camp in the 1980's.  Read it.