'Personal and entertaining....a compelling snapshot'

"This books offers a compelling snapshot of a changing China told from a personal point of view, describing the kind of experiences that any adventurous traveler can relate to.
"It's personal and it's entertaining."
- RTE.ie

'Funny, revealing....Fascinating.'

'Book of the Week
A funny, revealing account of what it's like to be there.
In fact it's a better insight than most of the TV reports on the changing China...a street-level immersion course on what it's really like in Beijing.
Fascinating'
- Irish Independent

'Finnegan has done us all a favour'

'Finnegan has done us all a favour by being in the right place at the right time and writing the right kind of book...
With the Olympics as the hook, Finnegan ensnares the reader with a choice selection of observations on the vagaries of the people in the People's Republic. Game on!'
- Cara magazine

'Instinct for detail is spot on'

'Anyone harbouring romantic notions of the Orient and contemplating a visit to China would do well to read Gary Finnegan’s debut title.
He’s at his best when he tackles the serious stuff...On the lighter side, his instinct for the kind of detail that puts the reader right in the picture is spot on'
- Sunday Business Post

'China comes alive in the pages of Finnegan's book'

'China and the Chinese people have come alive in the pages of Gary Finnegan's book, the real China and its people rather than the view the world will almost certainly be offered at this year's Olympics....
While writing in an overall light-hearted tone, Finnegan does go below the surface of problems.'
- The Irish Emigrant

http://84.51.250.252/emigrant/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62461&Itemid=378

'Wry humour, sharp-witted analysis'

'A blend of wry humour, sharp-witted analysis and regular travelogue'

- The Sunday Times

(See full interview, Culture section, June 29, pages 8 & 9)

'Witty and entertaining'

'With impeccable timing, Gary Finnegan's lively account of his time in Beijing [is a] witty and entertaining read....The style of Beijing for Beginners is conversational and often irreverent, even when we are taken at break-neck speed through chunks of Chinese history.

'Gary Finnegan's achievement is that, in his own journey into the heart of China, he has drawn us - the readers - into that quest on a journey that is as entertaining as it is informative'
- Verbal Magazine
http://www.verbalartscentre.co.uk/verbalmagazine/

'This is the manual; a must-have'

'This is the manual; it's a must-have for people who are thinking of boarding a plane and heading to Beijing.'

Ryan Tubridy, The Tubridy Show, RTE Radio 1, June 17, 2008

Full interview here
http://dynamic.rte.ie/quickaxs/209-rte-tts-thetubridyshow-2008-06-17.smil

'Captures the bizarre and the beautiful'

‘Gary Finnegan’s Irish eye catches the bizarre and the beautiful in Beijing. From eating caterpillars on a stick, to the Little Emperors of the one child policy, he explains what’s old and what’s new in a city changing faster than you can spit on the street.’
— Carole Coleman, author of Alleluia America: An Irish Journalist in Bush Country

'Book brings China to life'

‘Beijing for Beginners is a wonderful surprise. At a time when there is so much focus on China as a growing superpower, Finnegan brings the place alive with all its strange flavours and colours – and, most importantly, tells us exactly what it’s like to be a foreigner living there. Well worth reading.’
— Eamon Delaney, editor of Magill and author of An Accidental Diplomat

Beijing for Beginners - published on June 19

Beijing for Beginners: An Irishman in the People's Republic, by Gary Finnegan, will be available from June 19.
Thanks to The Liffey Press the book should be in shops and available on Amazon.co.uk and from www.theliffypress.com.
In the meantime, please visit www.garyfinnegan.blogspot.com for the latest news, comment and anecdotes from China...