If you haven’t already, you are likely to hear a great deal about a book released yesterday, which describes the traditional Chinese approach to child rearing, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua. On NPR’s Fresh Air on Monday, Maureen Corrigan predicted,

…Battle Hymn is going to be a book club and parenting blog phenomenon; there will be fevered debate over Chua’s tough love strategies, which include ironclad bans on such Western indulgences as sleepovers, play dates, and any extracurricular activities except practicing musical instruments … which must be the violin or piano.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother Amy Chua Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The – (2011-01-11) ISBN / EAN: 1594202842 / 9781594202841

Penguin Audio; UNABR; 6 Hours; 5 CDs; ISBN 9780142429105; $29.95

That’s happening already. An excerpt from the book in the Wall Street Journal, with the challenging title, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” appeared over the weekend and became the top-read story. It is being discussed widely, in blogs and articles, from The New Yorker to the Guardian in the UK, which calls it “one of the most controversial books of 2011.” It is currently at #6 on Amazon’s sales rankings and library holds are rising rapidly.

Chua appeared on the Today Show on Monday. Her upcoming book tour should be fun.

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This is Chua’s third book. Her previous titles have been on international policy. Tiger Mother made news when it was acquired last year, for a rumored high six figures.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 12th, 2011 at 4:04 pm and is filed under 2010/11 - Winter/Spring, Nonfiction, Self-Help. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.