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Amy Chua

Author, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.
The 2011 TIME 100 and The Atlantic's 2011 Brave Thinker.

A dynamic and respected author with global insights into parenting, world powers and economics.

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Biography

Amy Chua’s best seller Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother defends Chinese traditions of child rearing. Raising her children for success, she did not permit sleep-overs, play dates, or other staples of American youth culture.

Along with Barack Obama, Steve Jobs and Richard Muller, Amy was named a 2011 Brave Thinker by The Atlantic magazine. Amy is also one of the 2011 TIME 100 Most Influential People. Most recently, Amy was chosen to Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers 2011.

Amy's third book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, is a parenting memoir in which she explains her views on parenting, specifically as it relates to her claims of being a typical Chinese parent. Being raised the Chinese way herself, her parents emigrated to the U. S. from the Philippines, Amy chronicles her iron-willed decision to raise her daughters her way-the Chinese way-and the remarkable results her choices inspires. An awe-inspiring, often hilarious, and unerringly honest story of one mother's exercise in extreme parenting, revealing the rewards-and the costs-of raising her children the Chinese way. The book has been translated into 30 languages.

"A courageous and thought-provoking read."
— David Brooks, New York Times columnist and best-selling author.

Amy's previous book, World on Fire, is a dire warning of the potentially catastrophic consequences of globalization. Day of Empire examines history’s handful of dominant world powers to reveal the reasons behind their success and the roots of their ultimate demise.

Amy Chua is the John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School. She also has taught law at Duke, Stanford, and New York Universities. Previously, she was a Wall Street lawyer who worked on the privatization of Telmex, Mexico's national telephone company.

Credentials

  • Author of World on Fire, a New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller; selected one of Best Books of 2003, The Economist
  • Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers 2011
  • Executive Editor, Harvard Law Review
  • Distinguished Teaching Award, Yale Law School
  • International Affairs Fellowship, Council on Foreign Relations
  • Clerked for Chief Judge Patricia Wald of the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
  • Worked on international transactions throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America with the Wall Street firm, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton
  • Visiting Professor, Columbia, Stanford and NYU law schools and Associate Professor at Duke Law School
  • Teaches contracts, law and development, international business transactions, ethnic conflict, and law and globalization

Books

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

A Parenting Memoir

Amy Chua

An awe-inspiring, often hilarious, and unerringly honest story of one mother's exercise in extreme parenting, revealing the rewards-and the costs-of raising her children the Chinese way.

All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. What Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother reveals is that the Chinese have a totally different idea of how to do that. Western parents try to respect their children's individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions and providing a nurturing environment. The Chinese believe that the best way to protect your children is by preparing them for the future and arming them with skills, strong work habits, and inner confidence. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother chronicles Chua's iron-willed decision to raise her daughters, Sophia and Lulu, her way-the Chinese way-and the remarkable results her choice inspires.

Chua demands as much of herself as she does of her daughters. And in her sacrifices-the exacting attention spent studying her daughters' performances, the office hours lost shuttling the girls to lessons-the depth of her love for her children becomes clear. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is an eye-opening exploration of the differences in Eastern and Western parenting- and the lessons parents and children everywhere teach one another.

Penguin Press HC, The (January 11, 2011)

Reviews

Terrible Swift Tongue – Sunday Book Review, The New York Times
Amy Chua is a wimp — The New York Times
Chinese-American family culture — The Washington Post

Day of Empire

How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance — and Why They Fall

Amy Chua

The thesis of Day of Empire, like the thrust of her previous book [World on Fire], is provocative. Chua’s lively writing makes her case studies interesting in themselves. And her convincing presentation of their relevance to the contemporary scene adds meaning to this timely warning.
— James F. Hoge, Jr., editor of Foreign Affairs, reviewing for The Washington Post.

In a little over two centuries, America has grown from a regional power, to a great power, to a superpower, to what is today called a hyperpower. But can America retain its position as the world's dominant power, or has it already begun to decline?

Historians have debated the rise and fall of empires for centuries. To date, however, no one has studied the far rarer phenomenon of hyperpowers — those remarkably few societies that have amassed such extraordinary military and economic might that they essentially dominated the world.

Now, in this sweeping history of globally dominant empires, bestselling author Amy Chua explains how hyperpowers rise and why they fall.

In a series of brilliantly focused chapters, Chua examines history's hyperpowers — Persia, Rome, Tang China, the Mongols, the Dutch, the British, and the United States — and reveals the reasons behind their success, as well as the roots of their ultimate demise.

Chua's unprecedented study reveals a fascinating historical pattern. For all their differences, she argues, every one of these world-dominant powers was, at least by the standards of its time, extraordinarily pluralistic and tolerant. Each one succeeded by harnessing the skills and energies of individuals from very different backgrounds, and by attracting and exploiting highly talented groups that were excluded in other societies. Thus Rome allowed Africans, Spaniards, and Gauls alike to rise to the highest echelons of power, while the "barbarian" mongols conquered their vast domains only because they practiced and ethnic and religious tolerance unheard of in their time. In contrast, Nazi Germany and imperial Japan, while wielding great power, failed to attain global dominance as a direct result of their racial and religious intolerance.

But Chua also uncovers a great historical irony: In virtually every instance, multicultural tolerance eventually sowed the seeds of decline, and diversity became a liability, triggering conflict, hatred, and violence.

The United States is the quintessential example of a power that rose to global dominance through tolerance and diversity. The secret to America's success has always been its unsurpassed ability to attract enterprising immigrants. Today, however, concerns about outsourcing and uncontrolled illegal immigration are producing a backlash against our tradition of cultural openness. Has America finally reached a "tipping point"? Have we gone too far in the direction of diversity and tolerance to maintain cohesion and unity? Will we be overtaken by rising powers like China, the EU or even India?

Chua shows why American power may have already exceeded its limits — and why it may be in our interest to retreat from our go-it-alone approach and promote a new multilateralism in both domestic and foreign affairs.

Random House ( Oct. 30, 2007)

Review

The Distant Horizon – Foreign Affairs

Praise

"Scintillating history, breathtaking in scope and chock-full of insight. Amy Chua argues persuasively that the real key to acquiring and maintaining great power lies in the ability to attract and assimilate, rather than to coerce or intimidate."
— Andrew J. Bacevich, author of The New American Militarism: How Americans       Are Seduced by War

"Amy Chua smartly condenses the complex histories of the Persian, Mughal, Dutch, and other empires into an irresistable argument: that empires expand through toleration and contract through close-mindedness. As with any shrewd and elaborate argument, the getting there is half the fun." — Robert D. Kaplan

"From ancient Achaemenid Persia to the modern United States, by way of Rome, Tang China and the Spanish, Dutch and British Empires, Amy Chua tells the story of the world's hyperpowers — that elite of empires which, in their heyday, were truly without equal. Not everyone will be persuaded by her ingenious thesis that religious and racial tolerance was a prerequisite for global dominance, but also the slow solvent of that cultural 'glue' which holds a great nation together. But few readers will fail to be impressed by the height of this book's ambition and by the breadth of scholarship on which it is based."
— Niall Ferguson, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History, Harvard University, and      author of Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order

World on Fire

How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability

Amy Chua

Three months on the BusinessWeek Best-Seller List.
A fundamentally new perspective on how to sustain globalization by finding ways to spread its benefits while curbing its destructive unintended consequences.

Every few years, a book is published about America's role in the world and the changing contest of global affairs that gets everyone thinking in a new way. Amy Chua's World On Fire will have exactly that kind of impact on the debate of how the world has changed in light of the events of last September.

Apostles of globalization, such as Thomas Friedman, believe that exporting free markets and democracy to other countries will increase peace and prosperity throughout the developing world; Amy Chua is the anti-Thomas Friedman. Her book wil be a dash of cold water in the face of globalists, techno-utopians, and liberal triumphalists as she shows that just the opposite has happened: When global markets open, ethnic conflict worsens and politics turns ugly and violent.

Drawing on examples from around the world — from Africa and Asia to Russia and Latin America — Chua examines how free markets do not spread wealth evenly throughout the whole of these societies. Instead they produce a new class of extremely wealthy plutocrats — individuals as rich as nations. Almost always members of a minority group — Chinese in the Philippines, Croatians in the former Yugoslavia, whites in Latin America, Indians in East Africa, Jews in post-communist Russia — these "market-dominant minorities" have become targets of violent hatred. Adding democracy to this volatile mix unleashes supressed ethnic hatreds and brings to power ethnonationalist governments that pursue aggressive policies of confiscation and revenge. Chua further shows how individual countries are often viewed as dominant minorities, explaining the phenomena of ethnic resentment in the Arab-Israeli conflict and the rising tide of anti-American sentiment around the world. This more than anything accounts for the visceral hatred of Americans that has been expressed in recent acts of terrorism.

Bold and original, World On Fire is a perceptive examination of the far-reaching effects of exporting capitalism with democracy and its potentially catastrophic results.

DoubleDay, 2002

Subjects

Amy tailors each presentation to the needs of her audience and is not limited to the topics we have listed below. These are subjects that have proven valuable to customers in the past and are meant only to suggest her range and interests. Please ask us about any subject that interests you; we are sure that we can accommodate you.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

The Consequences of Globalization

Videos

Phi Theta Kappa 94th Annual Convention

Reviews

An association of independent schools:
Your thoughtfulness in your presentation for our particular group was apparent and we appreciate all that you did to engage the audience. As you saw and heard from the book signing line, our attendees were both inspired and motivated by your remarks. We also appreciate the time you took to spend with our staff and board members after your presentation and session — how very gracious of you!

A major US university:
The Amy Chua lecture went really splendidly. She arrived promptly, the speech was excellent, lots of Q & A. We had over 500 people attend. Our University President [...] and his wife attended. The bookstore sold a lot of books. It was a great night. Amy couldn't have been more gracious. She is amazing.

A science, technology & economic development nonprofit:
She is really nice and did an awesome presentation. Everyone loved it —Jane was phenomenal as well. She had time to sit in some of the other sessions too. She is a gem and everyone loved her as well. I can’t say enough about either of them. Great presentations-very friendly and accommodating-so easy to work with. They are both excellent speakers and had jam packed rooms! Jane also did a great job with the panel discussion.

An association of international educators:
[Amy] was absolutely the hit of our conference. I can not count the number of people who approached me to tell me how highly they thought of her remarks. The animated and passionate delivery of her complex theories was spellbinding. You could literally have heard a pin drop in a room filled with slightly over 500 people. [...] This was truly a treat for an audience who is involved in the international arena through their work and most interested in the dynamics involved with issues of globalization. The buzz was that her name would be brought forward for invitation at an National Conference of our organization.

A national association of schools:
From my perspective, Dr. Chua provided the perfect questioning and intelligent analysis of local issues raised by globalization. She was dynamic and poised and raised difficult questions with grace and rigor. One of my most trusted colleagues said to me later that her presentation was the most tough-minded of all that he heard at the conference. In short, she fulfilled her function in the fabric of the program and exceeded my expectations in every way. We were pleased to have her.

An elite women's preparatory school:
Amy's presentation was very well received. Our students found her to be very intelligent and extremely dynamic as a speaker--as did I, as well.

I appreciated the fact that she was fully engaged with our students and faculty during our dinner, and she made herself available for about 45 minutes after the program ended to talk to our students individually. My sense is that the female students, in particular, saw her as an excellent role model; someone who is a very high achiever, and yet is also friendly, accessible and humorous.

We were very pleased and honored to have had Amy Chua as our Ethics and Public Policy speaker.

A major corporation's learning conference for women leaders:
She was terrific - excellent. Rated 5 of 5! Thanks so much for your help.

A Town Hall lecture series:
I want to let you know that we finished the first half with great success. The audience absolutely loved hearing Professor Chua speak this morning at the lecture and afterward at the VIP luncheon where she answered questions with great aplomb.

My email inbox is already filled with great messages about how much the morning audience appreciated hearing from such a distinguished, brilliant young woman.

The Town Hall commiteee looks forward to this evening with Professor Chua. We are enjoying her visit very much!

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