Book review: 'Finding Iris Chang: Friendship, Ambition, and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind'

Title: "Finding Iris Chang: Friendship, Ambition, and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind"

Author: Paula Kamen

Publisher: DeCapo

Pages: 279

Price: $26

In a Nutshell: Iris Chang, it seemed, had everything — beauty, fame, fortune, genius, a husband and child — but in 2004, she committed suicide. Paula Kamen, her stunned close friend and also a writer, was determined to find out why. Her caring but candid narrative is a noble attempt to shine light on her life. Kamen's writing talent is beneath that of Chang, and there is much repetition. Chang was famous for her book on the Japanese-engineered genocide against the Chinese in 1937. Had she lived to a ripe old age, her intellectual contributions would have been enormous.