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The Lady And The Panda
The True Adventures Of The First American Explorer To Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal
by Vicki Constantine Croke


8.6

based on 14 reviews
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based on 3 votes
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The Boston Globe's "Animal Beat" columnist recounts American woman Ruth Harkness' mission to China in the late 1930s to capture a giant panda and return it to the States.

Random House, 400 pages
07/05/2005
$25.95

ISBN: 0375507833

Nonfiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Science & Nature

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Library Journal Edell M. Schaefer

Croke... provides a rich and thoroughly engaging story of a captivating and remarkable woman. [1 July 2005, pg. 116]

Publishers Weekly

In dusting off this exciting tale, Croke... returns Harkness to her rightful place in the top rank of zoological explorers.

Boston Globe Gordon Grice

[Croke's] arresting accomplishment is to capture the excitement of the true adventure story while dismantling the bigotry behind it.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger K. Miller

[A] lively, fascinating story.

USA Today Deirdre Donahue

[An] insightful, beautifully written work.

Washington Post Glynis Ridley

It is... Croke's achievement to make this most improbable of explorations resonate like a classic quest narrative in which the journey into the unknown is as much about inner transformation as external conquest.

Chicago Tribune Michael Kiefer

Croke's book is meticulously researched and annotated. [31 July, 2005]

The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Candace Savage

[A] vivacious recounting of Harkness's adventures. [30 July 2005]

San Francisco Chronicle Darren Everson

Croke does her best to help Harkness take her place among Amelia Earhart and Sacagawea as one of history's great female explorers.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

[Croke] summons just enough romance, rivalry, victory, disappointment and redemption to make this book reflect a woman who wore lipstick in the jungle. Like its heroine, it stakes everything on exotic glamour.

The New York Times Book Review Pamela Paul

''The Lady and the Panda'' leaves the reader mourning both hunter and hunted.

Entertainment Weekly Thom Geier

[Croke] has unearthed a remarkably cinematic, real-life adventure with a memorable heroine at its center.

Kirkus Reviews

Kudos are due for recovering the story of a larger-than-life woman and her tiny, famous panda bear.

Christian Science Monitor Adelle Waldman

Croke is remarkably disposed to make a hero of Harkness, and does so in a depiction that is more fawning than nuanced.

The average user rating for this book is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Carrie M gave it a9:
I really enjoyed the book. I did not know the story and it opened my eyes to this interesting adventure.

nancy j gave it a9:
i own very few books but this one is a must to keep and lend out to my closest friends.

lise s gave it an8:
This book is very well written and a mind opener about wildlife and explorers in the early 20tn century and it is also a dedicated tribute to a very special lady, Mrs Harkness who truly deserve this public account of her accomplishement re: finding the first baby panda to set foot in the USA

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The Lady And The Panda The True Adventures Of The First American Explorer To Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal by Vicki Constantine Croke

The Lady And The Panda
The True Adventures Of The First American Explorer To Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal
by Vicki Constantine Croke