This is one of those books where I wish I had read the reviews first. As it is, I am seriously annoyed with myself for having wasted so much time reading the whole thing.

So much of this book defies belief. Here is just a small sampling:

- In spite of growing up in a dictatorship, where presumably people reported each other for anti-Communist activities and there would be no trust, and in spite of having been (supposedly) gang raped, we are expected to believe her first act upon arrival in the US would be to get in a car with a strange male
- She smacks someone for grabbing her behind while waitressing, and it turns out to be none other than Sly Stallone
- Her thesis for an undergrad degree in literature was on ... China's one child policy
- This same thesis, supposedly critical of the policy, was not only okayed by her professor, but actually published by the university
- Said thesis was supposedly the work that brought female infanticide to the attention of Chinese national media (who were apparently allowed to publish the related story) and then international media
- For this act, she was kidnapped off the street, bag over the head and all by the authorities ... for bringing shame to the regime... but later not only released without incident but got to leave the country
- But not before she happened to meet a kind female police officer who, with a bit of subterfuge that includes meeting in a secret location and temporarily hiding (apparently the only copies of) state documents that said she had additional black marks on her record (seriously), helps her get a passport.

Just a small sampling, as I said. Avoid this book


( )

After finding out that the author falsified much of his memoir, I have chosen not to read it. I'm really disappointed and had hoped that I would be able to look past the author's decision, as I have done with one or two other books, but unfortunate, this was not the case. For more about the author and the clarifications she had to make, read this interview: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ping-fu/clarifying-the-facts-in-bend-not-break_b_2... ( )

I can't recommend this book too highly. Very readable, extraordinary life story. Apparently, she had a difficult time sharing the details of her life as an introvert and due to the horrific experiences she suffered. Very life affirming. ( )

Alternates portraying the author's life during China's Cultural Revolution and her exile in America where she eventually founds Geomagic, a successful 3D software company. Even if a good portion is exaggerated (as numerous accusations suggest), her story is still incredible and inspiring. Taken by the Red Guards from her wealthy family at the age of 8, she was imprisoned as the sole provider for her and her younger sister. As restrictions gradually eased she was sent to work in a factory and was then accepted to university where her writings inadvertently earned her the further ire of the government. Exiled to America with no English language skills, social connections, or money, she battered out her own American Dream. Resisting embellishment would have resulted in a more powerful memoir/triumph over shitty circumstances. Still, damn girl. ( )

I really want to like this book, and now I know why there's just something amiss I can't really place while reading this thanks to GR reviews. So this is another Three Cups of Tea.. moment, only that I think Greg Mortensen's had a better ghostwriter and he did visit the villages he mentioned about initially to help the community.

The story started with Ping Fu just landed in New Mexico from China, without knowing any bit of English spoken, and got kidnapped by a Vietnamese who picked her up in the airport. She was forced to take care of her kidnapper's children, crammed in a crowded and bolted apartment, before escaping and taken to police station. Thus her amazing adventure in the US began, intermittently taking readers back to her childhood years in Shanghai, and Nanjing (after being picked up by the Chinese Red Guards.)



I have to admit I enjoyed reading her 'tale' about her Chinese upbringing, both before and during the Cultural Revolution, as I didn't get to read much about the era. Her description of being gang-raped and stamped as a 'black element' by the government sounded harrowing enough, you couldn't help rooting for her. Yet throughout the narratives she kept reminiscing her Shanghai childhood, which compared to other kids in that era, would be a luxury.

When she started recounting her US experience, I started to feel suspicious, or maybe a tad envious? This is someone claiming to have only a background in Literature, and ended up taking Master-level Comp. Sci course. How genius had she been, when forced to take Calculus for graduate requirement, she had to refresh high school-level of Math and finally managed to pass her grad-level Calculus with flying colors?

I also looked at the photographs of the authors attached on the middle of the book. Before learning about the half-truths from GR reviews, I was blown away by these pictures - her humble beginnings during the Cultural Rev. to her work at NCSA and recognition by President Obama. Truly this lady had to work hard to get into where she is now. Unfortunately, on her attempt in writing her biography, she probably had herself convinced that without drama, her life story would be just like any other immigrant's story who has come to America. Before learning about her case, I'd have easily given this book a 3-star rating, overlooking the jumble narratives and ESL diction, but upon reading about the half-truths from other reviewers, I gladly put this in the DNF (Did-Not-Finish) shelf. ( )