Dragon boat racing originated in China in the third century BC, and is only now being considered as a demonstration sport at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. This cross-cultural phenomenon is explored in Dragon Boats: A Celebration by Vancouver filmmaker Pat Barker. Filled with colourful photographs and a few technical illustrations, Dragon Boats traces the sport’s origins, culture, participants, techniques, and its future. Barker, who raced on a women’s dragon boat team in the late ’80s and early ’90s, writes with knowledge and passion, only occasionally lapsing into magazine-style “reporting.” As the summer brings dragon boat festivals to Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal, this delightful book belongs on store shelves to capitalize on, and perhaps stimulate, new interest in this increasingly popular sport.