Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory

A cup of coffee and a leisurely Sunday morning morning of email, news, and social media perusal led me to this book review of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. For those of you who know my childhood, inherently I cannot help but to check out anything which begins "Battle Hymn." [Aside: my ex tried to convince me that "Battle Hymn of the Republic" could be a fantastic wedding song. To his credit, while it did sound amazing on this organ, it received a firm veto.]

This book chronicles one mother raising her daughters using the Chinese model rather than western traditions. (In reading through her list of impermissible items, I think my mother was a partial adapter of Chinese rearing.) If we use Carnegie Hall as a measure of success, her children are well on their way to achieving amazing things. Her methods of forced practice every day remind me of Hseih's childhood account in Delivering Happiness that I read last fall. As I do not have children, I cannot offer opinions of one technique versus another. With its exploration of mother/daughter relationships and the drive to succeed, I do think this read could be a fascinating discussion for the GBC. It has made my reading list.