A review by zebbie
The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal by Vicki Constantine Croke

3.0

Somewhat interesting book about a woman venturing into what was considered a man's occupation. Ruth Harkness wanted to capture an elusive panda in the memory of her husband and bring it back alive to the states. She may have inadvertently caused a shift from the appeal of sending back only skins and parts to institutions to live specimens. But in doing so more pandas were killed or kept alive in inhumane conditions. With all the interest generated in capturing a live panda, China learned quickly that pandas could be a lucrative national treasure. Light read overall with a glimpse in the explorer/collector world of the early 20th century when there were areas of the world still fairly untouched by humans.