|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
商品の説明
内容説明
Here is the astonishing true story of Ruth Harkness, the Manhattan bohemian socialite who, against all but impossible odds, trekked to Tibet in 1936 to capture the most mysterious animal of the day: a bear that had for countless centuries lived in secret in the labyrinth of lonely cold mountains. In The Lady and the Panda, Vicki Constantine Croke gives us the remarkable account of Ruth Harkness and her extraordinary journey, and restores Harkness to her rightful place along with Sacajawea, Nellie Bly, and Amelia Earhart as one of the great woman adventurers of all time.
Ruth was the toast of 1930s New York, a dress designer newly married to a wealthy adventurer, Bill Harkness. Just weeks after their wedding, however, Bill decamped for China in hopes of becoming the first Westerner to capture a giant panda–an expedition on which many had embarked and failed miserably. Bill was also to fail in his quest, dying horribly alone in China and leaving his widow heartbroken and adrift. And so Ruth made the fateful decision to adopt her husband’s dream as her own and set off on the adventure of a lifetime.
It was not easy. Indeed, everything was against Ruth Harkness. In decadent Shanghai, the exclusive fraternity of white male explorers patronized her, scorned her, and joked about her softness, her lack of experience and money. But Ruth ignored them, organizing, outfitting, and leading a bare-bones campaign into the majestic but treacherous hinterlands where China borders Tibet. As her partner she chose Quentin Young, a twenty-two-year-old Chinese explorer as unconventional as she was, who would join her in a romance as torrid as it was taboo.
Traveling across some of the toughest terrain in the world–nearly impenetrable bamboo forests, slick and perilous mountain slopes, and boulder-strewn passages–the team raced against a traitorous rival, and was constantly threatened by hordes of bandits and hostile natives. The voyage took months to complete and cost Ruth everything she had. But when, almost miraculously, she returned from her journey with a baby panda named Su Lin in her arms, the story became an international sensation and made the front pages of newspapers around the world. No animal in history had gotten such attention. And Ruth Harkness became a hero.
Drawing extensively on American and Chinese sources, including diaries, scores of interviews, and previously unseen intimate letters from Ruth Harkness, Vicki Constantine Croke has fashioned a captivating and richly textured narrative about a woman ahead of her time. Part Myrna Loy, part Jane Goodall, by turns wisecracking and poetic, practical and spiritual, Ruth Harkness is a trailblazing figure. And her story makes for an unforgettable, deeply moving adventure.
From the Hardcover edition.
Ruth was the toast of 1930s New York, a dress designer newly married to a wealthy adventurer, Bill Harkness. Just weeks after their wedding, however, Bill decamped for China in hopes of becoming the first Westerner to capture a giant panda–an expedition on which many had embarked and failed miserably. Bill was also to fail in his quest, dying horribly alone in China and leaving his widow heartbroken and adrift. And so Ruth made the fateful decision to adopt her husband’s dream as her own and set off on the adventure of a lifetime.
It was not easy. Indeed, everything was against Ruth Harkness. In decadent Shanghai, the exclusive fraternity of white male explorers patronized her, scorned her, and joked about her softness, her lack of experience and money. But Ruth ignored them, organizing, outfitting, and leading a bare-bones campaign into the majestic but treacherous hinterlands where China borders Tibet. As her partner she chose Quentin Young, a twenty-two-year-old Chinese explorer as unconventional as she was, who would join her in a romance as torrid as it was taboo.
Traveling across some of the toughest terrain in the world–nearly impenetrable bamboo forests, slick and perilous mountain slopes, and boulder-strewn passages–the team raced against a traitorous rival, and was constantly threatened by hordes of bandits and hostile natives. The voyage took months to complete and cost Ruth everything she had. But when, almost miraculously, she returned from her journey with a baby panda named Su Lin in her arms, the story became an international sensation and made the front pages of newspapers around the world. No animal in history had gotten such attention. And Ruth Harkness became a hero.
Drawing extensively on American and Chinese sources, including diaries, scores of interviews, and previously unseen intimate letters from Ruth Harkness, Vicki Constantine Croke has fashioned a captivating and richly textured narrative about a woman ahead of her time. Part Myrna Loy, part Jane Goodall, by turns wisecracking and poetic, practical and spiritual, Ruth Harkness is a trailblazing figure. And her story makes for an unforgettable, deeply moving adventure.
From the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. During the Great Depression, inexpensive entertainment could be had at any city zoo. The exploits of the utterly macho men who bagged the beasts also made good adventure-film fodder. Yet one of the most famous animals ever brought to America—the giant panda—was captured by a woman, Ruth Harkness. Vicki Constantine Croke, the "Animal Beat" columnist for the Boston Globe, became fascinated by bohemian socialite Harkness, who was left alone and in difficult financial straits in 1936 after her husband died trying to bring a giant panda back from China. Instead of mourning, Harkness took on the mission. Arriving in Hong Kong with "a whiskey soda in one hand and a Chesterfield in the other," she soon found herself up against ruthless competitors, bandits, foul weather and warfare. Luckily, she was accompanied by the handsome and capable Quentin Young, her Chinese guide and eventual lover. This gripping book retraces their steps through the isolated and rugged wilderness where pandas hide, and then back to America, where the strange bears took the West by storm. Despite her remarkable journey, Harkness was derided and ignored by male adventurers. In dusting off this exciting tale, Constantine Croke (The Modern Ark: Zoos Past, Present and Future) returns Harkness to her rightful place in the top rank of zoological explorers. B&w photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --このテキストは、絶版本またはこのタイトルには設定されていない版型に関連付けられています。
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --このテキストは、絶版本またはこのタイトルには設定されていない版型に関連付けられています。
登録情報
|
この商品にタグをつける(詳細)タグは、商品との関連性が非常に強いキーワードまたはラベルのようなものです。
タグにより、すべてのお客様がお気に入りの商品の整理と確認を行うことができます。 ※タグは初期設定で公開になっています。詳しくはこちら |
カスタマーレビュー
Amazon.com で最も参考になったカスタマーレビュー (beta)
Amazon.com:
30件のカスタマーレビュー
25 人中、24人の方が、｢このレビューが参考になった｣と投票しています。
Another Depression Era Success Story
2005/8/9
形式:ハードカバー|Amazonが確認した購入
In the 1930's America was much in need of heroes. The Great Depression had settled over the United States, and poor out-of-work people were everywhere. The election of President Franklin Roosevelt boosted the nation's collective morale, along with Seabiscuit, the champion racehorse, with his owner, trainer and jockey Red Pollard of course. Then came the now all-but-forgotten Ruth Hardness, who is 1936, accomplished the impossible by bringing back to the United States the first ever live panda from the dangerous territry where China borders Tibet.
Vickie Constantine Croke in THE LADY AND THE PANDA recounts this wonderful saga of a determined New York socialite, who after the death of her young husband on a similar mission in China, takes up where he left off, invests her entire inheritance on her quest and surprises practically everyone when she brings back Su-Lin for all the world to see and adore. The panda takes up residence in Chicago's Brookfield Zoo where, the author says in her "Preface" that he drew "more than 53,000 visitors when first displayed at the Brookfield--a single-day tally the zoo has never again matched." Such famous people as Helen Keller, Shirley Temple, Sophie Tucker and the Dionne quintuplets fell under Su-Lin's spell. He was insured by Lloyd's of London.
Ms. Harkness is a bigger than life character. The author tells us that though short in height, Harkness always appeared to be much taller than she was. She is quoted as saying that the two things she hated most were going to bed at night and getting up in the morning. In addition to her passion for pandas, she was besotted with beautiful clothes--she was a dressmaker by profession-- cigarettes, alcohol, fine food and late-night parties. More importantly, she showed no racial prejudice and treated the Chinese as equals-- a rare quality for Americans during this period-- fell in love with both China and its people and even had a brief affair with a young Quentin Young, her Chinese expedition partner. In this extremely well-written book that reads like a novel-- although the author assures the reader that every word is true-- Ms. Harkness meets other fascinating people in addition to Quentin Young: E. A. Cavalier, her good friend and helper Dan Reib of Standard Oil, Her nemesis and rival Floyd Tangier Smith and her cook and friend Wang.
Many of the passages here read like a travelogue, particularly the descriptions of Shanghai. Both Ms. Croke and Ms. Harkness are fine writers. Ms. Croke had access to hundreds of Harkness' letters as well as the 1938 book she wrote with the same title as this one. This book has extensive notes, along with many good photographs of Ms. Harkness and her beloved pandas. (In some of the photos she is wearing real furs, a no-no of course in these different times.)
This book should delight animals lovers as well as the rest of the world. A very, very fine read.
Vickie Constantine Croke in THE LADY AND THE PANDA recounts this wonderful saga of a determined New York socialite, who after the death of her young husband on a similar mission in China, takes up where he left off, invests her entire inheritance on her quest and surprises practically everyone when she brings back Su-Lin for all the world to see and adore. The panda takes up residence in Chicago's Brookfield Zoo where, the author says in her "Preface" that he drew "more than 53,000 visitors when first displayed at the Brookfield--a single-day tally the zoo has never again matched." Such famous people as Helen Keller, Shirley Temple, Sophie Tucker and the Dionne quintuplets fell under Su-Lin's spell. He was insured by Lloyd's of London.
Ms. Harkness is a bigger than life character. The author tells us that though short in height, Harkness always appeared to be much taller than she was. She is quoted as saying that the two things she hated most were going to bed at night and getting up in the morning. In addition to her passion for pandas, she was besotted with beautiful clothes--she was a dressmaker by profession-- cigarettes, alcohol, fine food and late-night parties. More importantly, she showed no racial prejudice and treated the Chinese as equals-- a rare quality for Americans during this period-- fell in love with both China and its people and even had a brief affair with a young Quentin Young, her Chinese expedition partner. In this extremely well-written book that reads like a novel-- although the author assures the reader that every word is true-- Ms. Harkness meets other fascinating people in addition to Quentin Young: E. A. Cavalier, her good friend and helper Dan Reib of Standard Oil, Her nemesis and rival Floyd Tangier Smith and her cook and friend Wang.
Many of the passages here read like a travelogue, particularly the descriptions of Shanghai. Both Ms. Croke and Ms. Harkness are fine writers. Ms. Croke had access to hundreds of Harkness' letters as well as the 1938 book she wrote with the same title as this one. This book has extensive notes, along with many good photographs of Ms. Harkness and her beloved pandas. (In some of the photos she is wearing real furs, a no-no of course in these different times.)
This book should delight animals lovers as well as the rest of the world. A very, very fine read.
16 人中、16人の方が、｢このレビューが参考になった｣と投票しています。
Great Summer Read!
2005/7/14
形式:ハードカバー
This book is fabulous. It has everything, adventure, exotic location, cute animals, love and interesting characters. Best of all its true. I found the subject matter fasinating and the time period an exciting one (just before world war II). But beware, once started it was hard to put down. I really loved it.
11 人中、10人の方が、｢このレビューが参考になった｣と投票しています。
A Tragic Tale of 1930s Exploration/Exploitation
2005/11/22
形式:ハードカバー
The West first learned of the existence of the panda when the French missionary Pere Armand David saw a panda skin while visiting remote western regions of China in 1869. For nearly fifty years after his report, European and American explorers sought the rare animal without success, only buying second-hand hides. As late as the 1920s the scientific community questioned whether pandas were extinct or mythical, according to Vicki Constantine Croke in her book The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal.
By the time Ruth Harkness arrived in China to attend to the remains of her late husband's expedition in 1936, several big game hunters had sent panda skins to museums, but no one had succeeded in bringing a live panda out of the country. Her husband had gone to China to try, but died of cancer in a Shanghai hospital without ever seeing one. No one thought a former dress maker and New York socialite could succeed where seasoned hunters had failed. They did not know Ruth's idea. They never even thought of packing a baby bottle and formula.
In The Lady and the Panda, Croke tells the story of Harkness, her three expeditions, and the international acclaim that she received for bringing two pandas to the Brookfield Zoo. The journeys were difficult. When available, Harkness and her team traveled by boat, train, plane, auto, or rickshaw; often they hiked up steep paths to reach mountainous forest reserves. With supporters and rivals in the field, she dodged Chinese authorities and the invading Japanese army. In time she came to the conclusion that the expeditions were endangering the pandas and dishonored the land that she had come to love.
Readers who enjoy natural and political history and those who enjoy adventure stories will enjoy this book.
By the time Ruth Harkness arrived in China to attend to the remains of her late husband's expedition in 1936, several big game hunters had sent panda skins to museums, but no one had succeeded in bringing a live panda out of the country. Her husband had gone to China to try, but died of cancer in a Shanghai hospital without ever seeing one. No one thought a former dress maker and New York socialite could succeed where seasoned hunters had failed. They did not know Ruth's idea. They never even thought of packing a baby bottle and formula.
In The Lady and the Panda, Croke tells the story of Harkness, her three expeditions, and the international acclaim that she received for bringing two pandas to the Brookfield Zoo. The journeys were difficult. When available, Harkness and her team traveled by boat, train, plane, auto, or rickshaw; often they hiked up steep paths to reach mountainous forest reserves. With supporters and rivals in the field, she dodged Chinese authorities and the invading Japanese army. In time she came to the conclusion that the expeditions were endangering the pandas and dishonored the land that she had come to love.
Readers who enjoy natural and political history and those who enjoy adventure stories will enjoy this book.
これらのレビューは参考になりましたか？
ご意見はクチコミでお聞かせください。
リストマニア
関連商品を探す
- 洋書 > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Adventurers & Explorers
- 洋書 > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Women
- 洋書 > Outdoors & Nature > Fauna
- 洋書 > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology
- 洋書 > Science > Earth Sciences
- 洋書 > Science > Nature & Ecology > Animals > Wildlife
- 洋書 > Special Features > all foreign books
同じキーワードの商品を探す
フィードバック
- カタログ情報、または画像について報告
- 著者からのコメント
- 出版社からのコメント
|
