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| The Entertainment Review |
| By: Paula Kamen Publisher: Da Capo |
Iris Chang seemed to have it all; she was a bestselling and critically acclaimed author at age 29, successful and and
considered by many as among America’s best young historians. However, in November 2004, Chang committed
suicide at age 36.
knew about her. It was beyond comprehension and talk even began that it may have been a murder. In “Finding Iris
Chang: Friendship, Ambition, and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind,” Paula Kamen not only sorts through the
rumors, she seeks out what might have led Chang to take her own life.
To a certain extent, “Finding Iris Chang” could serve as a useful guide for how to research a biography. Kamen uses
a first person approach to her research process as she gathers information from interviews with Chang’s friends,
colleagues and husband, as well as various documents Chang donated to university archives. She also looks into
how events in the last several years of Chang’s life may have aggravated her psychological condition. Likewise,
Kamen takes a look at rumor that the content of Chang’s books may have contributed to her death, whether by
contributing to her depression or creating reason to kill her.
Chang became a strong advocate urging that Japan needed to formally apologize and pay compensation. At the
time of her death, Chang was engaged in research and interviews for a book on the Bataan Death March, another
Japanese atrocity in which thousands of American and Filipino prisoners of war were forcibly marched 60 miles to
prison camps in the summer of 1942. Some believed her immersion in the gruesome and grisly details of these
events brought about or worsened her depression. Others speculated that her advocacy and the subject matter led
to a Japanese right wing, or even American government, conspiracy to murder her. Kamen comes to no ultimate
conclusions but does question the validity of the conspiracy theories and, detailing how the suicide was not a spur of
the moment act, finds more normal reasons for what may have led Chang to it.
Although the first person approach can be a guide for research, it does not work as a writing style. Since she draws
heavily on her friendship with Chang, Kamen frequently introduces herself into the narrative. While the personal
connections between Kamen and Chang add and help evaluate pieces to the puzzle, it at times goes to extremes.
Also, some may be put off by Kamen’s somewhat non-linear approach to the book. Her chapters are named after
questions that frame her search, although some of those questions are not ones a reader may think necessarily
important, at least as phrased by Kamen.
The definitive Iris Chang biography probably will not exist until sometime in the future. That is when her personal
papers from the last years of her life archived at Stanford University will be available to the public and researchers.
Until then, “Finding Iris Chang” serves as a useful introduction to the human side of an exceptional and talented
woman.
considered by many as among America’s best young historians. However, in November 2004, Chang committed
suicide at age 36.
knew about her. It was beyond comprehension and talk even began that it may have been a murder. In “Finding Iris
Chang: Friendship, Ambition, and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind,” Paula Kamen not only sorts through the
rumors, she seeks out what might have led Chang to take her own life.
To a certain extent, “Finding Iris Chang” could serve as a useful guide for how to research a biography. Kamen uses
a first person approach to her research process as she gathers information from interviews with Chang’s friends,
colleagues and husband, as well as various documents Chang donated to university archives. She also looks into
how events in the last several years of Chang’s life may have aggravated her psychological condition. Likewise,
Kamen takes a look at rumor that the content of Chang’s books may have contributed to her death, whether by
contributing to her depression or creating reason to kill her.
Chang became a strong advocate urging that Japan needed to formally apologize and pay compensation. At the
time of her death, Chang was engaged in research and interviews for a book on the Bataan Death March, another
Japanese atrocity in which thousands of American and Filipino prisoners of war were forcibly marched 60 miles to
prison camps in the summer of 1942. Some believed her immersion in the gruesome and grisly details of these
events brought about or worsened her depression. Others speculated that her advocacy and the subject matter led
to a Japanese right wing, or even American government, conspiracy to murder her. Kamen comes to no ultimate
conclusions but does question the validity of the conspiracy theories and, detailing how the suicide was not a spur of
the moment act, finds more normal reasons for what may have led Chang to it.
Although the first person approach can be a guide for research, it does not work as a writing style. Since she draws
heavily on her friendship with Chang, Kamen frequently introduces herself into the narrative. While the personal
connections between Kamen and Chang add and help evaluate pieces to the puzzle, it at times goes to extremes.
Also, some may be put off by Kamen’s somewhat non-linear approach to the book. Her chapters are named after
questions that frame her search, although some of those questions are not ones a reader may think necessarily
important, at least as phrased by Kamen.
The definitive Iris Chang biography probably will not exist until sometime in the future. That is when her personal
papers from the last years of her life archived at Stanford University will be available to the public and researchers.
Until then, “Finding Iris Chang” serves as a useful introduction to the human side of an exceptional and talented
woman.
