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Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother [Hardcover]

Amy Chua
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)

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Book Description

10 Jan 2011
A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what Chinese parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it...

Amy Chua's daughters, Sophia and Louisa (Lulu) were polite, interesting and helpful, they had perfect school marks and exceptional musical abilities. The Chinese-parenting model certainly seemed to produce results. But what happens when you do not tolerate disobedience and are confronted by a screaming child who would sooner freeze outside in the cold than be forced to play the piano?

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. It was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how you can be humbled by a thirteen-year-old.

Witty, entertaining and provocative, this is a unique and important book that will transform your perspective of parenting forever.


Product details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing (10 Jan 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1408812673
  • ISBN-13: 978-1408812679
  • Product Dimensions: 16.5 x 24.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 62,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

`One of the most controversial books of 2011' --Guardian

`If you think you are ambitious for your child, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother will make you think again ... Amy Chua's philosophy of child-rearing may be harsh and not for the fainthearted, but ask yourself this: is it really more cruel than the laissez-faire indifference and babysitting-by-TV which too often passes for parenting these days? Millions of failing British children could use a Tiger Mother in their tank' --Allison Pearson, Daily Telegraph

`Blissfully funny ... The book, for all its hilarious/hair-raising insights into how to raise terrifyingly over-accomplished children, strikes me as ultimately being not so much about parenting methods as about the immigrant experience, though the two are of course inextricably intertwined ... Chua remains a second-generation immigrant who wants the best for her children. It is not hard to understand if you know the milieu, and not hard either to feel a sneaking admiration for her' --India Knight, Sunday Times

`Could it be that much of the laissez-faire parenting of the modern West uses the idea of enlightened liberality to give an intellectual justification for what is actually a form of laziness? ... If it's results you want, then the Chinese mother does indeed know best' --Dominic Lawson, Independent

`Her tale is compelling in the same way as a good thriller'
--Financial Times

`[Chua's] exhortations for perfection struck a little chord in me ... Ever since reading about her I've decided to become a little bit harder, and that's a good thing. I will polish those rough diamonds of mine' --Adam Brophy, Irish Times

`[An] alternately terrifying and amusing account of how a hyper-achieving Chinese mother in America raised her children to be accomplished musicians, mathematicians and linguists by yelling at them 24 hours a day. Dammit, her kids look happy too' --Martin Ivens, Sunday Times

`And for all its quotable outbursts from Mama Grisly (the nickname was inevitable), it will gratify the same people who made a hit out of the granola-hearted Eat Pray Love ... [a] slickly well-shaped story' --Janet Masun, New York Times

`So I'm not against the way Chua pushes her daughters. And I loved her book as a courageous and thought-provoking read. It's also more supple than her critics let on'
--David Brooks, New York Times

Book Description

Witty, entertaining and provocative, this is a unique and important memoir that will transform your perspective of parenting forever

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother 22 Jun 2011
By S Riaz HALL OF FAME TOP 10 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I remember once attending a school coffee morning and complaining afterwards to a friend of mine, who is from Hong Kong, how competitive some parents are. To say she was aghast is understating the case - "No," she exclaimed, "Hong Kong is much harder to bring your child up - very, very competitive!" After reading this book, I perhaps understand what she meant. Amy Chua brought her two daughters up, in the US, but on the Chinese parenting model. This book does explain why, and how, there are so many academically brilliant Chinese students; not to mention so many gifted musicians, chess champions, etc. However, it also explains the cost of putting this intense programme into action - no playdates, sleepovers, and an over scheduling which sounded exhausting for her, let alone a child.

Amy Chua obviously has a great belief in her parenting methods and she is, at times, quite shockingly aggressive about 'Western' methods. However, she herself admits that she prefers to learn things by rote and found a career in Law uncomfortable by her unwillingness to 'question', which perhaps meant the model worked for her and so she approved of it whole heartedly for her own children. This, however, I believe is the true shortcoming in her approach - yes, children do need to learn some things by rote, but to be real learners for life, you need to inspire and create a love of learning and a willingness to try things without fear of failure. All you can do, ultimately, for children is to open doors - let them experience different activities and choose which of those they enjoy. To battle with your children over music practice day after day must surely be draining for everyone in the house and, you do wonder at the cost of success.
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56 of 63 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing and aggressive memoir 23 Jan 2011
By D. M. Purkiss VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
There can't be many people who would agree with every word on child-rearing here. Nor will there be many who think nothing here makes sense. The book is compelling reading, good to think with, and fun to hurl away with great force. I know I did this. I also know I picked it up again. I wanted to know what happened next.

I can understand her frustration with liberal parenting, and with the dumbing down endemic in the Anglophone world. (I looked at the OCR GCSE English marking criteria today; these contain two uses of a plural verb with a singular noun.) Chua implies - rightly - that these declining standards are less likely to be disadvantageous to the children of the Goldman Sachs bankers than to the children of struggling immigrants.

And yet most readers of this book will also have found themselves gasping in horror at some point: I know I did. For me, Chua's educational methods are more bearable than her character-training efforts. I agree with her that nothing is fun until you do it properly, and there is evidence that constant praise and no challenges does not make for happiness. It is also plain that few children will do enough music practice - or enough grammar or times tables - unless pressured, though conversely we could consider the long-term cost of installing perfectionism and restless dissatisfaction in every child. WE as readers could consider such things; Chua doesn't.

But the extent to which - in Chua's eyes - birthday cards and funeral eulogies also become tasks to be done 'properly' by children is chilling. Conditional love is one thing, but nobody can be perfect in every respect. Is Chua quite perfect enough herself to set standards like this for the entire world? Is it quite enough to be a soloist, or a law professor, or a novelist?
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put down 27 Feb 2012
Format:Paperback
I finished reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in just over an hour. It was a very entertaining read and I do feel that Amy has been gravely misunderstood, from some of the reviews of this book (not on Amazon but other publications). First and foremost, as a woman of South East Asian chinese descent I will say that it takes a lot of guts for Amy to write about her rise and fall in her super quest for her children to be nothing but the best. She also comes across in her book as someone who is completely self aware of the situation- making a parody of herself if you will- and finally realising that her discipline heavy approach did not quite cut the mustard with Lulu. Unorthodox and cruel as certain quarters may feel her methods are, I think one message is clear- she never told her daughters that "you can never do this, you are not good enough". Her berating and temper only flares up when they were not trying hard enough.

There is nothing worse than raising a child to be an adult with low self esteem and self doubt. Too often, parents give up easily when their children throw tantrums and then these children later on grow up wishing they had put more effort into what they had been doing ("should have practised more piano, should have done this, should have tried harder etc"). The mental and physical challenges required of any individual working on something full time, be it sports, music, arts, etc, resembles a marathon, your legs are killing you but you want to get to the finishing line because you have come this far and there really is no turning back.

As with any other book I think a balanced approach must be adopted.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Witty and insightful
I bought this really out of curiosity, having heard Amy Chua speaking about it on the radio. I a lot of people think it might be a manual for forcing your children to be... Read more
Published 21 days ago by karmalaa
2.0 out of 5 stars It's alright, but lacks integrity and frustrating
I personally found Amy Chua's sino-centric view more disturbing than her parenting method. She admits that the terms "Chinese Mother" and "Western Mother" to depict stereotypically... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Vero Leonie
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
I must reading book. It illustrate how kids should be raised so they are prepared for life and for the challenges of the future
Published 1 month ago by JLCL
5.0 out of 5 stars A must for every parent
This book is so interesting and raises debates with every parent you meet but it also makes you reflect on your parenting views and what you want for your own children.
Published 2 months ago by HelF
4.0 out of 5 stars We all have a little tiger mum in us.....
If read at face value you could think that she is an awful mother, but a lot of what's wrong written reads true. I'm not ashamed to say that there is a little tiger mum in me....
Published 2 months ago by Mrs Emma Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look at a very un-western model of parenting
You are very unlikely to agree with the author's child rearing methods, but you will undoubtedly find them fascinating, Sometimes I couldn't fathom how she could so stubbornly... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Carol
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking
As soon as I started this book, I was gripped by it and read the first two thirds in no time. The examples of Chinese parenting and anecdotes of Chua's family life are interesting,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mary24
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly incredible
I read this book in under 3 hours as I literally could not stop once I started! I highly recommend it to everyone!
Published 3 months ago by jrww88
5.0 out of 5 stars great
great example for all parents and parents to be
if you wish great future to your child start his preparations from the early childhood
If you want him to be successful... Read more
Published 3 months ago by vika
4.0 out of 5 stars good read, too short
Interesting, entertaining and really well written but too short a book to feel really substantial to me. Read it in less than 2 hours
Published 4 months ago by Rachel
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