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Review
`Blissfully funny' ----India Knight, Sunday Times
'Millions of British children could use a Tiger Mother in their tank' ----Allison Pearson, Daily Telegraph
`A treat from first to last: ruefully funny, endlessly self-deprecating, riven with ironies .. I relished this memoir' ----Independent
'Entertaining, bracingly honest and, yes, thought-provoking' ----New York Times
'Millions of British children could use a Tiger Mother in their tank' ----Allison Pearson, Daily Telegraph
`A treat from first to last: ruefully funny, endlessly self-deprecating, riven with ironies .. I relished this memoir' ----Independent
'Entertaining, bracingly honest and, yes, thought-provoking' ----New York Times
Review
""Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" is the book we've all been waiting for - a candid, provocative, poignant and vicarious journey through the Chinese- American family culture. It will leave you breathless with its bluntness and emotion. Amy Chua is a Tiger Mother, a greatly gifted law professor and, ultimately, an honest, loving woman with a lot to say."
-Tom Brokaw
"This is one outrageous book, partly thanks to Amy Chua's writing style - Chua is pugnacious and blunt, with an unerring nose for the absurd ...The cultural divide Chua so brilliantly captures is one we stand to witness more and more in our globalized age, after all; and what with Asia and Asian achievement looming ever larger in the American imagination, the issues inherent in "Battle Hymn" are as important as they are entertaining... I was riveted by this book"
-Gish Jen, "The Boston Globe"
"Amy Chua's "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" did more than speak to me. It screamed, shouted and lecture --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
-Tom Brokaw
"This is one outrageous book, partly thanks to Amy Chua's writing style - Chua is pugnacious and blunt, with an unerring nose for the absurd ...The cultural divide Chua so brilliantly captures is one we stand to witness more and more in our globalized age, after all; and what with Asia and Asian achievement looming ever larger in the American imagination, the issues inherent in "Battle Hymn" are as important as they are entertaining... I was riveted by this book"
-Gish Jen, "The Boston Globe"
"Amy Chua's "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" did more than speak to me. It screamed, shouted and lecture --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 59 people found the following review helpful
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? Is anybody quite perfect enough? Can anything ever give back to Chua or her children the sound sweet sleep provided by knowing that ordinary is sometimes enough, that the family is a haven in a heartless world? I wonder - no, I worry - about what will happen to Chua's daughters Sophia and Lulu if they don't get into an Ivy League school, if they don't maintain a perfect GPA when they get there. Chua may forgive them, but will they be able to forgive themselves? What if they don't make it as soloists, or athletes? Parents have to arm children against failure as well as prepping them for success; by Chua's standards, most people are failures.
I pin my hopes to the dogs; one of the most engaging strands of the book is dedicated to them. Chua knows they have been a comfort because they are untrained, but still beautiful. Perhaps Sophia and Lulu will learn this lesson too.
Chua is a fine writer and she makes you argue with her, fight her, and also sympathise with her and with her daughters as she clashes with both of them. I think 'thought-provoking' is definitely the mot juste for this book. Read it and weep, yes, but smile too, and hope.
One minus; it isn't very long, and most of the striking stories have been well aired in the press.
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? Is anybody quite perfect enough? Can anything ever give back to Chua or her children the sound sweet sleep provided by knowing that ordinary is sometimes enough, that the family is a haven in a heartless world? I wonder - no, I worry - about what will happen to Chua's daughters Sophia and Lulu if they don't get into an Ivy League school, if they don't maintain a perfect GPA when they get there. Chua may forgive them, but will they be able to forgive themselves? What if they don't make it as soloists, or athletes? Parents have to arm children against failure as well as prepping them for success; by Chua's standards, most people are failures.
I pin my hopes to the dogs; one of the most engaging strands of the book is dedicated to them. Chua knows they have been a comfort because they are untrained, but still beautiful. Perhaps Sophia and Lulu will learn this lesson too.
Chua is a fine writer and she makes you argue with her, fight her, and also sympathise with her and with her daughters as she clashes with both of them. I think 'thought-provoking' is definitely the mot juste for this book. Read it and weep, yes, but smile too, and hope.
One minus; it isn't very long, and most of the striking stories have been well aired in the press.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
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. To go on holiday and spend hours searching for a piano at every location just introduces stress into what should be an enjoyable time and, although you can applaud the effort, you wonder how much is for the sake of the child and how much for the parental ambition. Quite a lot I felt was for the mother and not the children. Interestingly, Amy's husband was not Chinese, but an American academic and well known author. Although he disagreed with many of Amy's methods, she did most of the parenting (like the majority of mothers) and so, ultimately, it was her ideas which were implemented. The cost seems to have been a high one in family financial cost, time and stress, with her children becoming her 'projects'.
Although I disagreed with much of what she said, I did find myself agreeing with some of her ideas; although perhaps in a less aggressive way. As a book I found it fascinating. You have to look past the desire to shock and be confrontational and read the message. Although I could never parent like she does, nor would I wish to, in one sense she is right - children are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. Parental input is certainly important for our children to succeed, but the task is to get the balance right and include our children in the process. It is, after all, their life. However, as a book - jaw dropping as it is, it does make fascinating reading.
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. To go on holiday and spend hours searching for a piano at every location just introduces stress into what should be an enjoyable time and, although you can applaud the effort, you wonder how much is for the sake of the child and how much for the parental ambition. Quite a lot I felt was for the mother and not the children. Interestingly, Amy's husband was not Chinese, but an American academic and well known author. Although he disagreed with many of Amy's methods, she did most of the parenting (like the majority of mothers) and so, ultimately, it was her ideas which were implemented. The cost seems to have been a high one in family financial cost, time and stress, with her children becoming her 'projects'.
Although I disagreed with much of what she said, I did find myself agreeing with some of her ideas; although perhaps in a less aggressive way. As a book I found it fascinating. You have to look past the desire to shock and be confrontational and read the message. Although I could never parent like she does, nor would I wish to, in one sense she is right - children are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. Parental input is certainly important for our children to succeed, but the task is to get the balance right and include our children in the process. It is, after all, their life. However, as a book - jaw dropping as it is, it does make fascinating reading.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Very funny book. The author is a tough mother, no doubt about it, but she does have insight into her terrifying approach and acknowledges how hard it is for her daughters. Lots of limp parents will criticise this, furiously defending their own directionless, TV watching offspring. I'm not saying I would raise my own daughter exactly as Amy has done...maybe dilute it a bit. The most intersting thing would be to hear from Sophia or Lulu when they are a little older and can tell us what sort of adults they turned out to be and whether it was all worth it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
great parenthood journey
This wook reveals the hard work for being a tiger mom. The auther puts consistent efforts to help her daughter to achieve something. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Ms. B. Hu
A memoir of family dynamics and a mother in trauma
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a very interesting read and I soon realised that I was reading a memoir of some psychological trauma by a mother who was very obviously... Read more
Published 1 month ago by L. Macleod
perfect in every way
excellent interaction and perfect product - looks brand new. Came very promptly. Many thanks - will definitely try to do business with you again
Published 1 month ago by aquagrace
Funny and engaging
Ths is not so much a book about parenting, it is more the autobiography of an unusually single minded and determined parent. Read more
Published 1 month ago by John Baird
Hard hitting and provocative
Many of the people criticising this book sound like typical wet, ineffectual "nurturing" Western parents! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bill Bloggs
So-So
I don't think this was what I was expecting from the reviews I read and the dust jacket synopsis.
I think I was expecting to hear more what it was like for the children... Read more
I think I was expecting to hear more what it was like for the children... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Alison Fable
What's the best for every people education?
From the very beginning you'll appreciate the singularity of the book. Interesting matter to read about, even though you don't share the author's opinions. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Isabel
three out of five
alphamum amy only gets three out of five from me for lack of emotional intelligence. some lessons she learned the hard way.
Published 2 months ago by AVF
Hard to put down
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... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Floribus
Tiger in your tank
This book's take-home message is to find an approach to life and then expect and get 112% out of it. So live flat out (and then some). Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. N. Foale
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