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.
Critic Reviews
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Outstanding
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Library Journal Edell M. Schaefer
Croke... provides a rich and thoroughly engaging story of a captivating and remarkable woman. [1 July 2005, pg. 116]
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Outstanding
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Publishers Weekly
In dusting off this exciting tale, Croke... returns Harkness to her rightful place in the top rank of zoological explorers.
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Outstanding
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Boston Globe Gordon Grice
[Croke's] arresting accomplishment is to capture the excitement of the true adventure story while dismantling the bigotry behind it.
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Outstanding
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Chicago Sun-Times Roger K. Miller
[A] lively, fascinating story.
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Outstanding
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USA Today Deirdre Donahue
[An] insightful, beautifully written work.
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Outstanding
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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.
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Outstanding
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Chicago Tribune Michael Kiefer
Croke's book is meticulously researched and annotated. [31 July, 2005]
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Favorable
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The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Candace Savage
[A] vivacious recounting of Harkness's adventures. [30 July 2005]
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Favorable
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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.
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Favorable
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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.
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Favorable
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The New York Times Book Review Pamela Paul
''The Lady and the Panda'' leaves the reader mourning both hunter and hunted.
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Favorable
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Entertainment Weekly Thom Geier
[Croke] has unearthed a remarkably cinematic, real-life adventure with a memorable heroine at its center.
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Favorable
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Kirkus Reviews
Kudos are due for recovering the story of a larger-than-life woman and her tiny, famous panda bear.
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Mixed
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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.
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