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The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal, by Vicki Croke

Free PDF The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal, by Vicki Croke

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Review

Advance Praise for THE LADY AND THE PANDA“A remarkable journey beautifully described, The Lady and the Panda brings to life one of the most astonishing and overlooked stories of American adventure, the 1936 quest by Ruth Harkness to bring a giant panda to America. Vicki Constantine Croke’s canvas is the mystical and wondrous China of the 1930s, her heroine a most remarkable woman, and her gift the ability to understand that this is a great love story.”–ROBERT KURSON, author of Shadow Divers“Mesmerizing. Vicki Croke has done a magnificent job of immersing the reader in an absolutely fascinating world. I found myself completely absorbed and could not stop reading. Amazing.”–JEFFREY MOUSSAIEFF MASSON, author of When Elephants Weep“Ruth Harkness, the New York socialite who journeyed into the wilds of China to bring the Giant Panda to America, now has the biography she deserves. In Croke’s hands, the intrepid American woman and the con men, dreamers, and adventurers who joined her in pursuit of the world’s most exotic animal spring vividly to life. Part Hemingway, part Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Panda Hunter is a rare blend of adventure, biography, and zoology. A deeply satisfying read.”–STELLA DONG, author of Shanghai

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About the Author

Vicki Constantine Croke has been exploring animal life for more than two decades—tracking the fossa in Madagascar, polar bears in the Arctic Circle, and Tasmanian devils in, of course, Tasmania. She now covers creatures great and small for WBUR-FM, Boston’s NPR news station, on air and as The Animalist online. Her work there earned a 2013 regional Edward R. Murrow Award. She is the author of The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China’s Most Exotic Animal, The Modern Ark: The Story of Zoos—Past, Present and Future, and Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II. Croke has worked on nature documentaries for Disney and for the A&E channel and anchored The Secret Life of Animals on NECN-TV. She also wrote The Boston Globe’s “Animal Beat” column for for thirteen years, and has contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The London Sunday Telegraph, Time, Popular Science, O: The Oprah Magazine, Gourmet, National Wildlife, and Discover magazine, among others. She lives in the Boston area.From the Hardcover edition.

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Product details

Paperback: 400 pages

Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; First Random House Trade Paperback Editi edition (June 13, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0375759700

ISBN-13: 978-0375759703

Product Dimensions:

5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches

Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.4 out of 5 stars

70 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#738,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

I love reading about the exploits of interesting people traversing parts of the world I’ve never seen, and this exuberant biography of a Manhattan dress designer turned international explorer held me rapt with one caveat that I’ll explain at the end.Ruth Harkness did not come from a wealthy, sophisticated family, but with determination, a flair for design, and a savvy intelligence that allowed her to read people Harkness managed to create a cosmopolitan New York City life for herself, even in the midst of the 1930’s Great Depression. She fell in love with then married a rich boy adventurer who hoped to be the first to bring a live panda out of China and into the US. When he died in the process, Harkness surprised all her high fashion, socialite friends by deciding she would be the one to take on his mission.Harkness ended up loving China, especially the wild, rugged, mountainous, densely forested, far western areas where the giant panda makes its home, and it’s thrilling to read about her rough and tumble travels, the variety of local people she spent time with, and the off-the-map exotic places she visited. But Harkness didn’t avoid China’s urban areas entirely. There was plenty of Euro-American drinking and partying when she stopped in international cities like Shanghai to gather the team, funds, and provisions needed for her venture, but unlike many contemporary Westerners she respected the Chinese culture and treated her Chinese expedition guide like a partner, even briefly having a love affair with him.When Harkness successfully brought a baby panda out of China much was made of the fact that though she was “just a woman” she succeeded where many men had failed--so far the men had been shooting pandas and bringing back their pelts. Harkness treated “her” panda with great care, trying to understand its needs and sacrificing her own comforts, but the caveat I mentioned in the first sentence is that it makes me uncomfortable and sad to read about a baby animal being taken from its mother and native habitat to be put in a zoo. Harkness agonized about this too, even releasing back into the wild another panda she captured.Other than that, I totally fell under the spell of this lively, enthusiastically written book. The author had access to a trove of personal letters written by Harkness, and retraced some of Harkness’s journey herself, so while reading it was easy to imagine I was right there, experiencing it all myself.

This book is a page turner for sure. I really had a hard time putting it down. It's the fascinating story of Ruth Harness, whose husband went to China with the idea of bringing back a Giant Panda. He dies and Ruth decides to travel there to check out his partners and where his money has gone with perhaps a thought way in the back of her mind to continue his quest. She is fearless in her pursuit of the Panda and attracts a number of people determined to help her get her Panda. This is all happening during the days of Chaing Kai-Shek just before the communists take over China so the atmosphere is turbulent. Ruth is considered somewhat of a dilletante because she is a dress designer by profession so at times it is difficult for people to take her seriously. She is part American Indian so this may explain her determination and fearlessness. Up to this time, no woman had gone into the wild hunting game. She trusts her female instincts in caring for this baby Panda and it works. Great writing by Vicki Croke.

Am only half way through the book, but am pleasantly surprised by how well crafted the writing is. I've recently been sucked into the little black & white world of panda worship so am reading everything possible on the topic. This true story takes place in the 1930s when our understanding of and behavior towards wild animals was very different than what it is today. Would NEVER want to see that type of behavior again, but this story is an important part of panda history. As mentioned earlier, I'm only about halfway through, but so far would highly recommend this book to panda lovers as well as anyone with an interest in the history of zoos or adventures in China in the 1930s.

What a delightful read. Sorry for the cliche but I truly couldn't put it down. Croke's poetic prose about Ruth's quest - so much more than just a travelogue - kept me mesmerized on every page. Besides the bittersweet story of yesteryear's fascination with (and mistreatment of) exotic animals, I was also left with a much better understanding of spiritualism, China on the cusp of Communism and America's support of Chiang Kai-Shek. And of Ruth, who was a tortured but totally fascinating woman. Extremely well-written.

I was intrigued by this story on many levels and wanted to read this book. However, I was disappointed in how the story was presented and told. For example, when they find the baby panda, Su-Lin, that became the first panda to come to America, the story line was lacking in many ways. More detail was needed on this part of finding this baby. It would have been nice to have read more details about Su-Lin's time at the zoo. This is a good book for a general biography of Ruth Harkness. She was an intriguing lady in her own right during a time when women were coming into their own. Ruth got to witness China and Shanghai during its best years, as well as during the war.

This was an interesting book of another period in history. It would have been most enlightening to have been able to read Ruth Harkness' actual book. I felt most sorrowful for the pandas who where caught in the tug-of-war between mighty egos which led to many animals' deaths.

Slow reading at first but became more interesting as the the chapters became more descriptive of Ruth Harknessadventures and experiences in pursuing her successful featIn bringing a live Panda for people to witness and see plus the world as well..

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