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THE LADY AND THE TIGER: A memoir of Taiwan, the Republic of China | 
 enlarge | Author: Patricia Linder
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $14.34
You Save: $8.61 (38%)
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Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 2025826
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 332
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.8
ISBN: 1418437743
Dewey Decimal Number: 915
EAN: 9781418437749
ASIN: 1418437743
Publication Date: September 5, 2004
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Condition: Brand New! Perfect Condition!
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Product Description
Patricia Linder's newest book The Lady and the Tiger gives the reader and in-depth account of life in a foreign country during a politically uncertain time. The setting is Taiwan, Republic of China during the last days of the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1979. To the west is communist China, determined to reclaim this island it calls "a rogue province" and thereby, impose communist rule on what has been a democracy for thirty years. Rear Admiral James Linder, representing the U.S. government as the Commander of Taiwan Defense Forces, has been given the job of protecting the Republic of China from any such incursion. The Linders, acting upon official Department of Defense orders, take up residence in Taipei and the countdown begins. As the author deals with the challenges of the ways of the Far East, the time grows shorter for the safety of the Chinese and Taiwanese they have come to know and care about. On December fifteenth 1978, the Carter Administration abrogates the Treaty that guarantees Taiwan's safety, thus leaving the Island vulnerable to a communist attack. Riots ensue and lives are threatened. This is the story of a virtually unknown chapter of American history.
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| Customer Reviews:
An impressive and historic memoir of a little know piece of history October 29, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The first chapter just jumps right into the dangers and emotions that author Patricia Linder found herself in during a little remembered part of our foreign policy. Her experiences living in Taiwan during a time when the United States was pulling its protection and official recognition to build relations with communist China, is one full of emotion. Her first person account of that period of history is very well told in her newest book "The Lady And The Tiger."
Linder does a masterpiece of reporting from her own heart and soul. She sounds like someone who not only was there physically, but was fully aware of all the political and social issues that surrounded what was happening. She has an intelligent grasp of what happened and why. She writes with great passion and skill to weave the facts and emotions together to give the story lots of energy and movement. This book, at times, reads almost like an action novel. You will get hooked from page one and will have a hard time putting down the book.
She faces riots, mobs and angry people all with great courage. She has to deal with tapped phones, and armed guards that she cannot fully trust and even rooms in her own residence that are bugged with listening devices. The events and culture that she found in Taiwan are not what this wife of a Rear Admiral was expecting. This was a tour of duty that was going to really test her soul!
Great book to read! It has the MWSA's TOP BOOK RATING - FIVE STARS!
MWSA's 2006 Silver Medal Award for Memoirs
An engaging memoir about Taiwan during a tumultuous time in May 10, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"The view was wondrous. High mountains rose straight up before me, and as I watched, a flock of white birds...winged their way together across the face of the nearest mountain. It was a Chinese painting in motion."
Not everything was idyllic during Pat Linder's years in Taiwan. For this savvy, globe-hopping Admiral's wife, her husband's posting to Taiwan in 1977 proved not to be for the faint of heart. Earthquakes, political upheaval and the language barrier made for a bumpy ride indeed. There are undercurrents of trouble throughout, from the mysterious phone call advising her to unpack before she ever leaves the U.S., to the daunting number of armed guards around their Taiwan residence, to a rare eye disease that increasingly obscures her vision. And she is scathing in her comments about the cruel practice of foot-binding, designed to keep women from running away from their husbands.
Yet the memoir also contains moments of sheer hilarity, as when Pat makes her first attempt at using chopsticks at an official function, or when - desperate to get her air conditioning fixed - Pat speaks into one of the bugged ceiling fans in her home.
Readers will be amazed to learn how, in 1933, the most valuable pieces from a Beijing art museum were packed into crates and then carried on the backs of peasants for 16 years, lest Japanese or Communist Chinese forces find and destroy them.
When the U.S. government breaks off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1978, Pat's sympathies are obviously with the Taiwanese people, whom she has come to admire and love.
Since the Admiral shared only unclassified information with his wife, readers will get little in-depth discussion of actual political events. But Pat writes with warmth, humor and passion that is quite engaging.
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