Get ready to give up your weekend because once you pick up this book you won't be able to put it down. Lee's dramatic descriptions cover the conflicts between historical Eastern and Western traditions woven into poignant family events. While his relatives and their antics seem quirky and particular, in fact they resonate with all families facing abrupt changes and adaptation --be they generational or cultural. For those who have read and loved China Boy and Honor and Duty, Chasing Hepburn gives us the pre-story we've all been wondering about.

In this remarkable memoir, Gus Lee presents a clear and compassionate picture of his parents, grandparents and their 'clans' set in turbulent times. He brings alive the social, historical, religious and cultural context which informs their actions and reactions making them comprehensible to a reader with a totally different cultural viewpoint. It reads like a multi-generational adventure novel where the characters play parts in or are impacted by major events, from the Taiping rebellion through the British opium trade to the civil wars that raged from the early twentieth century through the brutal Japanese occupation in WWII. It is a wild ride and a great read. Gus presents his forbears and related characters warts and all, but always with great compassion and subtlety. There are no cardboard characters. Readers of his novels, which have a strong autobiographical base, particularly 'China Boy', will know what a hard childhood he endured with a stern and distant father, a mother prone to 'magical' beliefs who died when he was five, and a rigid, vindictive step mother. In this memoir, Gus reveals to us what he subsequently discovered about his parents and he honors them both. Gus's own life has been a testament to using adversity to build strength. He has wasted no time blaming, or scoring points off his parents or using his experiences to excuse failings in his own life. There is no 'poor me' here. His story helped me understand a completely different belief system and cultural perspective. And it was at times moving, at other times funny, but always interesting.

I read this FICTION some time ago. Unfortunately, many take it as non-fiction. That's my knock on it, and other books of similar ilk. They take an unnecessary shot at a national icon, tending to help keep the cauldron of doubt boiling for many influential people. Ugh! What a bad idea!

Honor and Duty and even better than China Boy.

This book is an absolute must for all who like China Boy, and for all who like good reading. Where China Boy was a little bit slow, Honor and Duty is over almost too fast (and this by about double the length :-). The struggle becomes humongous for Kai when he enters the Army, and his decision to go there. Who should he have more Duty to? His father, who preaches West Point as the best school of the world, or his Dababa, Uncle Shim, who, on one hand, teaches Kai to obey his father, but on the other hand he says "Hau nan bu dang bin". Good boys don't become Soldiers. A quick warining: If you are easily offended, you might not want to read this book, for it containst some swearing. I noticed this because I started to swear myself after I read this :-) This does not diminish the greatness of this book, though, and I highly recommend it.

I saw Gus Lee speak at a university and I thought he was fascinating. He was very cultured and he had a lot of insight into the cross-culture and language scene in American cities. However, I was a bit disappointed in his book because it isn't very well-written. He attempts to make light of every situation by being witty and making jokes, but he ends up being annoying. However, the book does redeem itself to a point with some great insight into a family that was uprooted from its native Chinese culture and forced to live in San Francisco. China Boy is worth reading, but only if you don't have much else to read right now.

China Boy touched my heart when I first read it. It's about a Chinese-American named Kai who learns to fight back and defeat his tormentors in a San Francisco slum. The prose is brilliantly crafted, with humorous dialogues. I highly recommend this book to anyone

This novel is funny because the author uses slangs throughout the story to make the reader feel how people really talk and trying to use chinese words that is translated to how the word sounds. He uses descriptive words and a lot of metaphors in his writing which flows from one sentence to another and would not stop till the end of the book. The story is from a young chinese boy's perspective who is unaware what American culture is about, living in San Francisco in the early fifties and dealing with a new American stepmom who tries to erase the family's chinese culture. This book inspires me how this young boy reminds me of how fun a child can be, growing up, adopting new styles from the streets and where everything is always changing. I would recommend to anyone because it's easy to read, funny, and have a unique ending that you to find out for yourself.

Having read mysteries for 30 years I quickly get bored with most of the genre these days and now find myself searching the mystery bookshelves for foreign translations and those not "fitting the mold." Finding Gus Lee's Tiger's Tail has been a delightful venture into Korea's mountainous DMZ and a very strange world of misfits, sadists, and good guys. Lee bounced from the present to his past in a single line that sometimes sent me backtracking and rereading to catch the wit of his metaphors, but I found that delightful as the writing was not the "same old thing." It all seemed pretty horrible and his characters were definitely bigger than life with steroids. Jackson Kan found his buddy and I still had a 100 pages to go as his "mission" kept expanding. I found both the mystery of the Tiger's Tail and the succinct humorous phraseology a really good read that was different than all the others.

Chinese American Writer Gus Lee explores an important area of criminal abuse in this new legal thriller. But Lee, author of four fine novels, experienced deputy district attorney, Army judge advocate, FBI trainer, and executive of the California state bar forgot to review his notes on how the system works. Lawyers and politicians will probably hate this drama. Readers will turn the last page knowing the law is not handled this way, yet will appreciate his passion for what is right, and his love for children and family. His window into the human soul saves this tangled story. A little polish would have helped as Lee creates great sentences in difficult paragraphs and confusing chapters.

This book is engrossing despite its flaws. Josh Jin's career and his personal life are slipping away due to his emotional collapse caused by the death of a daughter. Resulting mistakes caused him to lose respect and position. Jin is forced into a case in which he finds himself conflicted from grief, loss of status, ugly politics and morals, cultures, and outrage. A 13-year old rape victim refuses to talk. There is no physical evidence. He has nobody's confidence and no professional support. The accused ex-con may not be the one. Worse, his legal adversary is a powerful ex-girlfriend he once jilted who knows how to pull his chain. He cries in court and colleagues think he is without hope.

Jin struggles back from the edge while pulling another from disaster. The reader learns a bit about the Chinese-American culture and very real child sexual abuse, accurately rendered. As the story unfolds, there are surprises aplenty.

This BOMC alternate is awkward but remains a page turner. It is a complex crime story based on what is really happening, though a bit overplotted. A tale of lives in crises, untidy politics, horrifying crime, sleazy judges, shoddy legal work, messy lives, committment and personal salvation. Lee toys with the reader right up to the last few words. This is a book of passion dotted with clever observations and characters that resonate. Readers will think about this book for a long time despite it's rather unbelievable legal, political core. Gus Lee could do better and has done so(Honor and Duty) than this sometimes confusing book, but "No Physical Evidence" remains a worthwhile read.

Gus Lee scores again in this fast-paced and evocative legal drama with some characters you love to hate, and an unlikely hero you love to love. Unlike most writers, Lee creates a central character who, in the middle of his life, is overcome by personal tragedies that have depleted him, and as the book progresses, we can cheer him on as he rises from the ashes. It's refreshing to see a hero who feels not only his own pain, but also the pain of all the other hurting people around him. I love a book like this that combines great character development and a compelling story line into a wonderful morality play. If you like crime dramas with a human interest twist, you'll love this book. It will keep you guessing until the end when you're left marvelling at the Hitchcock-ian twist!

The story tracks the lives of many wonderfully developed characters all revolving around the horrendous rape of a 13 year old girl. The book reaches deep into your emotions as the author relates the efforts of district attorney Joshua Jin to save the girl, his marriage and the very fabric of the California legal system. This is a must read by anyone who loves a good Follett or Grisham tale. Placing this book in a particular genre would be almost impossible as it covers: love, detective, mystery, suspense, courtroom drama. The unabridged audio reading is superb.