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lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
ruth harkness first westerner to bring over a live panda from china in 1936. ahead of her time in many respects. she grew up in a modest home, but moved to new york and flourished mixing with the socialites. it was among this crowd that she met her husband bill. bill had a large trust fund and spent much of his time on adventures around the world. he died while in china trying to procure a panda for the u.s. ruth made it her mission to complete what he started. this is a work based on journals, letters and a book written by harkness herself recounting her journey through the east. truly amazing imagery and a beautiful account of the people of china during a troubled time.
juliet15's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
3.0
I’m conflicted with this review, because although this wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t for me.
I appreciated the history and the descriptions of life back in the mid-late 1930s, in both America and China. What a crazy time! Ruth Harkness seems like she was an early feminist and would have been a great person to have in your circle of friends. I could relate to her in many ways, especially in her yearning for adventure and desire to live a different life than what’s been handed to you.
We also both love animals. However this is also where we differ, and why I struggled with this book. I completely understand that things were different back then. I understand that this is how zoos acquired animals and museums acquired pelts. I do get it. But I also really don’t want to read about that in any sort of detail. It breaks my heart to imagine the incredible suffering that these animals went through (and still go through) at the hands of man. And how many died such pointless, needless deaths. I felt only slight relief when Harkness finally came to this same conclusion herself.
It is history. And if it won’t bother you to read about it, then I’d recommend this book. This is just the one subject I prefer to avoid whenever possible.
I appreciated the history and the descriptions of life back in the mid-late 1930s, in both America and China. What a crazy time! Ruth Harkness seems like she was an early feminist and would have been a great person to have in your circle of friends. I could relate to her in many ways, especially in her yearning for adventure and desire to live a different life than what’s been handed to you.
We also both love animals. However this is also where we differ, and why I struggled with this book. I completely understand that things were different back then. I understand that this is how zoos acquired animals and museums acquired pelts. I do get it. But I also really don’t want to read about that in any sort of detail. It breaks my heart to imagine the incredible suffering that these animals went through (and still go through) at the hands of man. And how many died such pointless, needless deaths. I felt only slight relief when Harkness finally came to this same conclusion herself.
It is history. And if it won’t bother you to read about it, then I’d recommend this book. This is just the one subject I prefer to avoid whenever possible.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty
whippycleric's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I went into this with no knowledge of the story and was surprised at how good it was. The fact that this is a true story, a biography in fact, is mind blowing. The journey Harkness went on, from trying to gather pandas for zoos to conservation in China is truely inspiring. The back drop of the war between Japan and China makes the whole thing even more dramatic. The sad end to her story and the mix of elation and grief throughout makes this one of the first biographies I struggled to put down.
kittenscribble's review against another edition
3.0
It's subtitled "The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal." The book is about the life and times of Ruth Harkness, an intrepid society lady who ventured into China to carry out the quest of her late husband. Fascinating subject but the writing style is unsure and scattered; I would much prefer to read the original 1938 writings of Harkness herself, whose prose seems about twice as vibrant and entertaining as that of Ms. Croke. Still, a very well-researched and informative read.
zebbie's review against another edition
3.0
Somewhat interesting book about a woman venturing into what was considered a man's occupation. Ruth Harkness wanted to capture an elusive panda in the memory of her husband and bring it back alive to the states. She may have inadvertently caused a shift from the appeal of sending back only skins and parts to institutions to live specimens. But in doing so more pandas were killed or kept alive in inhumane conditions. With all the interest generated in capturing a live panda, China learned quickly that pandas could be a lucrative national treasure. Light read overall with a glimpse in the explorer/collector world of the early 20th century when there were areas of the world still fairly untouched by humans.
the_naptime_reader's review against another edition
4.0
I tend to be really picky about what non-fiction books I will read. This book was given to me a number of years ago when I worked at LVL. I put it off for a while not really having an appetite for non-fiction. So I was pleasantly surprised when I enjoyed it so much! The book is like one big adventure and certainly connects to all the thoughts about a just and sustainable earth, as the panda population continues to decline. Croke does a good job at attempting to paint the good and bad of Ruth Harkness (the subject of the novel)however it is obviously that she really likes her.
Overall an interesting read.
Overall an interesting read.
amandalb's review against another edition
5.0
This story is fascinating...what Ruth Harkness accomplished in the 1930s as a woman is astounding.
lvfl's review against another edition
4.0
The ending kind of fizzled out, but otherwise a good read.
paperknotbooks's review
3.0
I digested this book by CD's. Lorna Raver's reading makes me think she's wearing long satin gloves, clutching a martini in one hand while gazing upward, fondling her long pearl necklace with the other. Pretty sure she's wearing a genuine mink shawl as well. She pauses simply to take a sip of the martini.
In all seriousness, I'd never heard of Ruth Harkness and I'm most certainly glad I got to peek in on her explorations. I would like to read Harkness's book (of the same name,) however that text has become an out-of-print collectable. Her story is both sad and amazing. I would have liked to have read her manuscript.
In all seriousness, I'd never heard of Ruth Harkness and I'm most certainly glad I got to peek in on her explorations. I would like to read Harkness's book (of the same name,) however that text has become an out-of-print collectable. Her story is both sad and amazing. I would have liked to have read her manuscript.