Author Iris Chang Found Dead in California

[sandra]

By Associated Press

November 10, 2004, 9:48 PM EST


LOS GATOS, Calif. -- Iris Chang, a best-selling author who chronicled the Japanese occupation of China and the history of Chinese immigrants in the United States, was found dead in her car of a self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said Wednesday. She was 36.

Chang, who won critical acclaim for her books "The Rape of Nanking" and "The Chinese in America," was found along Highway 17 just south of Los Gatos, Santa Clara County authorities said. On Tuesday morning, a motorist noticed her car parked on a side road, checked the vehicle and called police.

The official cause of death has not been released, but investigators concluded that Chang, who was hospitalized recently for a breakdown, shot herself in the head. She lived in San Jose with her husband and 2-year-old son.

Born in Princeton, N.J., in 1968 and raised in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., Chang earned a bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Illinois and a master's in science writing at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Chang worked briefly as a reporter for The Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune before leaving daily journalism to pursue her own writing. At age 25, she published her first book, "Threat of the Silkworm," which tells the story of Tien Hsue-shen, the Chinese-born physicist who pioneered China's missile program after being driven from the United States during the Cold War.

In 1997, Chang published the international bestseller "The Rape of Nanking," which described the rape, torture and killing of hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians by Japanese soldiers in the former Chinese capital during the 1930s. "The Chinese in America," published last year, is a history of Chinese immigrants and their descendants in the United States.

The late historian Stephen Ambrose described Chang as "maybe the best young historian we've got, because she understands that to communicate history, you've got to tell the story in an interesting way."

Chang suffered a breakdown and was hospitalized during a recent trip researching her fourth book about U.S. soldiers who fought the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II, according to her former editor and agent Susan Rabiner.

Chang continued to suffer from depression after she was released from the hospital. In a note to her family, she asked to be remembered as the person she was before she became ill -- "engaged with life, committed to her causes, her writing and her family," Rabiner said.

* __

On the Net:

Iris Chang's Web site: www.irischang.net

[hooligan]

Wtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtf

[Kuchana]

That's horrible:( Suicide is a terrible thing that can happen to anyone. I feel so sad for her family.

[AngryABCGirl]

That's such a shame, she was such a wonderful strength and asset to the Chinese and Chinese-American community.

[hooligan]

WtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtfWtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtfWtfwtfwtfwtfwt fwtfWtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtf
WtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtfWtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtfWtfwtfwtfwtfwt fwtfWtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtf
WtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtfWtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtfWtfwtfwtfwtfwt fwtfWtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtf
WtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtfWtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtf

that's it, it's the apocalypse a'comin'.

[TB4000]

God, that's....insane. I just saw a tape of Charlie Rose interviewing her a while ago about her works. Could she have seriously been that troubled?

[sandra]

maybe it was related to what she wrote about in the past.

as usual, when these things happen, we just kinda sit and wish the person came out about their depression so that we could have lent some support. it's obvious that there are many of us out here that look up to her and appreciate her work.

[Tao]

damn.....that's fucked

[Filiprish]

RIP Iris.

[Emperor_Mike]

Oh, no!

[Chris]

oh no I am totally shocked.

[ellsworth81]

depression??? man, didn't know at all ....

[DragonKnight]

Aww no...this...isn't right...not right at all...

[IndescribabLGuy]

a witness of histories endless brutality
imagined powerfully in her minds eye..
what a burden to bear...
..so much despair in a lifetime.

Rest in Peace.

[noname]

That's very sad. RIP.
I've read The Rape of Nanking, and met her at one of her book signings.