Entertainment Weekly (12/19/08: "A moving bio."

Curve Magazine (August 2009): “Throughout, Kamen is a brazenly subjective narrator. As kind as she is exacting, she speaks to all sides of a woman whose name came to signify activist journalism.”

Asian Reporter (Portland): 10/16/07 Here are the highlights: “A peculiar amalgam of biography and memoir, journalistic inquiry, and a treatise on Chang’s social significance…Kamen provides an intimate and respectful consideration of Iris Chang that gives the reader a better grasp of Chang’s flawed humanity…A valuable book because of its handling of mental illness in general, and specifically for its insight into mental illness in the Asian community…Examines the link between madness and genius…Kamen gives us a peek behind the curtain and reveals…a more real human being than we ever expected…Finding Iris Chang gives us an appreciation of what was lost when we lost Iris Chang.”

The Boston Globe (December 16, 2007) calls the book "affecting."

The Irish Times says that the author "approaches her very interesting subject with clarity, respect and an absence of melodrama." (December 15, 2007)

Charleston (SC) Post and Courier: Sunday, January 13, 2008: "Kamen's writing is clear and direct. Her narrative moves swiftly. It is easily understood and the psychological investigation enthralls the reader."

Cinnamon Cooper's personal and heartfelt commentary on my work, including past books, in Chicago's gapersblock.com. (1-18-08)

The Beijing Review 12-6-07

Waterbury Republican-American (CT), 12/28/08: “A fascinating exploration of friendship and facades, as well as the double-edged sword of ambition that only women seem to face…A real-life mystery more fascinating than any John Grisham potboiler…Powerful…A reminder of the complexity of any and all human beings.”

http://www.asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?author_as_subject_10087.aspx

PRINT INTERVIEWS:

CHICAGO READER (11/1/07): Interview by Kerry Reid... "Kamen ....relies very little upon navel-gazing rumination. Instead [the book] offers the same meticulous attention to detail and thorough immersion in primary sources that distinguishes Chang's exhaustively researched books."

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES (10/21/07): Interview by Mark Athitakis... "Things that got in [Iris'] way socially are just bonuses for journalists," Kamen said. "She was very direct, which in a social situation could offend people, or make people scratch their heads. But for somebody researching an atrocity from World War II, it's enormously helpful."

IN THESE TIMES (11/02/07) and REAL CHANGE NEWS (Seattle) (10/17/07): : About journalism and secondary trauma

SALON.COM INTERVIEW on December 12, 2007 with Stephanie Losee, co-author of OFFICE MATE.

RADIO AND TV INTERVIEWS:

Interview on Milwaukee NPR WUWM FM (December 12, 2007)

Interview on San Francisco's KALW "Upfront" show, NPR affiliate (posted December 26, 2007)

Interview from March, 2009, on CSPAN "Book TV." Broadcast from the Organization of American Historians' conference in Seattle.

BLURBS:

"Journalist Paula Kamen leaves no clue unturned in this riveting narrative that is part detective story, part psychological drama, part homage to a friend, as she peels back the complexities of Iris Chang's life and death -- revealing the obsessions, frailties, significance, and, ultimately, the humanity of this legendary Chinese American woman warrior."
--Helen Zia, author of ASIAN AMERICAN DREAMS: THE EMERGENCE OF AN AMERICAN PEOPLE

"Iris Chang inspired many, including me. Now Iris's life has inspired her friend Paula Kamen to write a tender remembrance of a great woman." – James Bradley, author of FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS and FLYBOYS

“Part biography, part detective story, part memoir of a thorny but enduring friendship, this book takes us to the heart of Iris Chang's tragic life. Paula Kamen writes with astute psychological insight, the intuition of a close friend--and with the determination of an investigative reporter resolved to get to the bottom of a death as baffling as it is heartbreaking.”
– Molly Worthen, author of THE MAN ON WHOM NOTHING WAS LOST

BLOGS

Women's book group recommendation from Claire Helene on her New Critics book blog (December 15, 2007): "To me it was fascinating on several levels. At its base, it’s the story of a long-term friendship and how that changes over time. It shows us how much we don’t know about each other, and also we impact each other, without our knowledge. It’s a look into Iris’s mind, through personal correspondence and interviews with close friends. As Paula says in her introduction, it gives us a glimpse into what it is like to be truly extraordinary."

Richard J. Cox explores book's major theme of historical archives in his blog Reading Archives(December 16, 2007): "Finding Iris Chang also concerns Chang’s love of research in archives, best represented in her book about Nanking but also encountered in every aspect of her life. Chang was a lover of archives, an accomplished researcher, and archives provided her life with adventure and the thrill of discovery. Chang’s archival impulses prove to be infectious. Kamen notes at the end of the book, “In investigating her influence, I’ve also become more aware of the significance of historical documents in general to transcend speculation and rumor – and shed light on even the most convoluted and misunderstood events of the past” (p. 263)...This is a book about the power of archival documents."

Media Bistro (December 13, 2007) comments on use of investigative tools to debunk conspiracy theories in book, as discussed in
Salon interview that day.

READINGS

Recording on You Tube. The opening remarks of the Asian American Bar Association-sponsored reading at Barnes & Noble downtown Chicago, January 17, 2008.

OTHER RESOURCES

A poem, "Ode to Iris Chang," by California poet: Victoria Chang.

Created on 10/19/2007 06:05 AM by paulakamen
Updated on 12/30/2009 07:25 PM by paulakamen