A BOOK

REVIEW
Table of Contents

Introduction................................................................................................................ 3
Brief Summary............................................................................................................ 3
What you liked about the book, how it personally appealed you and how it was
relevant to your life?.................................................................................................. 5
What you did not like about this book?.......................................................................6
Lessons Learnt from the Perspective of Management and Human Resource
Management.............................................................................................................. 7
Introduction
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a book by American author and lawyer Amy Chua that was
published in 2011. The complete blurb of the book reads: "This is a story about a mother, two daughters,
and two dogs. This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than
Western ones. But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures and a fleeting taste of glory.

Chua imparts the secret behind the stereotypical Asian child's phenomenal success: The Chinese mother.
Chua promotes what has traditionally worked very well in raising children: strict, old world,
uncompromising values--and the parents don't have to be Chinese. What they are, however, are different
from what she sees as indulgent and permissive Western parents: stressing academic performance above
all, never accepting a mediocre grade, insisting on drilling and practice, and instilling respect for
authority.

Chua and her Jewish husband (both are professors at Yale Law) raised two girls, and her account of their
formative years achieving amazing success in school and music performance proves both a model and a
cautionary tale. Sophia, the eldest, was dutiful and diligent, leapfrogging over her peers in academics and
as a Suzuki piano student; Lulu was also gifted, but defiant, who excelled at the violin but eventually
balked at her mother's pushing.

The brief summary ahead would give an experience similar to that of reading this phenomenal piece of
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother which has happened to have ignited a global parenting debate with its
story of one mothers journey in strict parenting.

Brief Summary
As the book begins, Chua describes the strict rules that she established early on for her two
daughters, Sophia and Louisa. The rules primarily address forbidden activities such as attending
sleepovers, getting less than an A in classes, and being involved in school plays. The author
admits that while her standards might seem rather stringent to most, they are common among
Chinese mothers.

In Chapter 2, Chua introduces her firstborn child, Sophia, and with her description of Sophia's
rather passive personality and ability to learn quickly, it seems that Chua's strict Chinese
parenting methods will prove to be successful. Chua's husband Jed is Jewish, and they decided
upon marrying that they would bring up their children Jewish, instead of focusing on Chua's
Catholic religious heritage. For Sophia, this decision seems to work perfectly. She demonstrates
the questioning nature of her father's ideology along with her mother's obsession with rote and
drill.

Chua's second child, Louisa (nicknamed Lulu), possesses completely different attributes. The
author admits that Lulu inherited her "hot-tempered" and "viper-tongued" personality. That
commonality is most likely the impetus for their "nuclear warfare" relationship. Chua also points
out that according to the Chinese calendar, Lulu was born in the Year of the Boar, which
supposedly predestines one to be wilful and obstinate. The author herself was born in the Year of
the Tiger, which causes one to be powerful and authoritative. The first recorded clash between
the Boar and Tiger occurs when Lulu (the Boar) is three. Chua, who has already obtained a piano
teacher for Sophia, attempts to begin Lulu on the piano at a very young age. Lulu refuses to do
anything that her mother asks of her in regards to the piano and eventually wins the face-off. At
this point, Chua admits that she might have to try different tactics with Lulu, but she is unwilling
to change any of the goals or rules that she has set for her two daughters.

While Chua's standards for her daughters might seem unreasonable to most, she inherited her
ideology from her parents. Her mother and father were raised in the Philippines by Chinese
parents who had fled their country. Chua's own parents immigrated to the U.S. in 1960 and raised
their children there. Chua acknowledges that she and her sisters always felt different from the
other children in their Midwestern and California schools, and she knew that her parents held
much higher standards for her than did her classmates' parents. One example she offers of those
standards is when she earned second place as an eighth grader in a history contest. After the
awards ceremony, Chua's father tells her never to disgrace him again by earning second place.
From a Westerner's standpoint, this comment seems cruel and demeaning, but Chua grew up with
the philosophy that she must do better and that her father not only wanted, but demanded her
best. In Battle Hymn, Chua practices this same philosophy with her children, in part, because she
is afraid of generational decline. She acknowledges that she has strayed a bit from her Chinese
roots and wonders how much further away her children will wander.

After explaining her family background, Chua discusses her piano teacher choice for Sophia.
While at first she and Sophia disagree about practice times and Chua's demand for perfection,
Sophia begins to win competitions and follows her mother's instructions without much
complaining. Lulu, however, presents an immense challenge. Lulu demonstrates her natural
musical ability during piano lessons, but Chua cannot rest with that. She believes that her two
daughters should excel at different instruments so that they will not seem to be in competition
with one another; hence the violin lessons for Lulu. Lulu does not go easily to her first lesson,
but eventually settles into a tense truce with her mother. Every one of Lulu's Saturdays is spent
practicing at home for three hours before going to the Neighborhood Music School in NYC for
an individual lesson, followed by a group violin lesson, and a piano-violin lesson with her sister.
Sometimes, Chua admits, she throws in more practice time at home after the girls finish their
lessons at the NMS.
In Chapter 10, Chua explains the essential differences between Western and Chinese parents. She
argues that while Western parents are overly concerned with their children's self-esteem, Chinese
parents function in a completely opposite fashion. They believe that their children owe them
everything and that they, as parents, know what is best for their children, even if that means
overriding their children's seemingly natural desires and preferences. While Chua's husband Jed
was raised in a vastly different environment, he and Chua choose the Chinese parenting model.
Throughout the book, Chua offers examples of Jed's disagreeing with her stringent methods and
harsh words toward their children, but he acquiesces early on, because the success of Chua's
methods is indisputable. People constantly approach Jed and Amy and comment on their
daughters' maturity and accomplishments.

As Chua's battle with Lulu over violin practice begins to intensify, she sometimes questions her
strategy and sanity, but then Lulu reaffirms her mother's methods by relishing an achievement on
the violin. The author uses that to convince herself that she has chosen the right path for her
headstrong daughter. After one particularly intense argument with Lulu over her perfecting a
specific violin piece for a recital, Chua promises Lulu that she will get her and Sophia a dog if
she delivers a perfect performance at the recital.

The next chapter begins with the girls' new dog Coco. True to her nature, Chua cannot resist
trying to apply Chinese parenting to raising a dog. Coco is a Samoyed and is immune to Chua's
instruction. Eventually, Coco inadvertently alleviates some of the pressure on Sophia and Lulu
because Chua is distracted just a little from badgering them as she tries to train Coco. That
distraction ceases, however, when Chua, Jed, and Chua's parents take the girls on a trip to Europe
and Asia. While this is not the girls' first trip abroad, Chua uses it as an example for her readers
to illustrate her intensity when it comes to the girls' practicing every day. Lulu's violin obviously
travels well, but Chua faces unique challenges with Sophia's piano practice sessions. She
somehow always manages to find a place for Sophia to practice but does exhibit some concern
about whether her daughters when grown up will tell others that their mother was a control
fanatic who ruined their vacations or that she provided them with opportunities to play in
beautiful and unique settings.

Later on, Chua after seeing Lulu suffer immensely through violin practices, she allows Lulu to
take up something she actually loves. This liberty allows her to pick tennis. Lulu shows that she
has the basis (after years of violin training) to excel at tennis. And she finally gives up the battle
of violin practices with her stubborn child. The book ends in a bittersweet manner, imparting
lessons that one would hold close to their hearts. It is indeed a treat for the readers.

Brutally honest and fiercely determined, Chuas memoir raises questions about traditional
approaches to parenting in the twentyfirst century, the inevitable clash of cultural attitudes in a
multicultural society, and how to best prepare children to succeed in an increasingly complicated
world. As she investigates her own assumptions, Chua is unafraid to poke fun at her flaws, yet
she articulates her convictions with passion and precision. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a
funny, serious, smart read that is as entertaining as it is thoughtprovoking.
What you liked about the book, how it personally
appealed you and how it was relevant to your life?

I believe that I can learn from anyone, even if I dont agree with them, particularly if they share
their successes and failures in achieving something. Amy Chua does just that in her book as she
recounts how she helped her children become great musicians. The lessons I learned include:

-PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Both of Chuas children were not allowed a day off piano or
violin practice and these practices lasted at least three hours a day. Three hours a day = 20 hours
a week = 10,000 hours over ten years. Their ultimate aim was to become perfect and be ahead of
others and the mastery required to be a world-class expert in music requires 10,000 hours of
dedication. There is little evidence of anyone becoming so accomplished with less time spent
practicing.

-CHILDRENS HAPPINESS IS RELATIVE: Chua said she has looked around at the Western
families that have fallen apart, and cant believe the Western-style of parenting does a better job
creating happiness. She does, however, know many Asian kids who acknowledge that their
parents were strict and demanding, but speak of them with loyalty and gratitude. She concludes
that Western children are no happier than Chinese children.

This book particularly touches my heart because our desi ways of parenting are quite similar to
the Chinese style, although far lesser in intensity, I can find myself agreeing to a lot of the
choices Amy Chua makes because my parents in one way or the other had a similar style and
there is little doubt that they couldve raised a child better than the way Ive grown up to be.

What you did not like about this book?

There were parts where I wished Chua would take things lightly and be easier on her kids. But
this Chinese mother is fierce, headstrong and unchangeably adamant in her Asian ways of
parenting. A few situations in which I, as a child, would not like to be thrown into are the
following:

-CHUA THREATENS: Amy Chua threatened to burn her older daughter's stuffed animals if the
child didn't improve her piano playing. According to her it is only something "What Chinese
parents understand," and I find myself agreeing to that, because it seems to be an unreasonably
fierce attitude. Chua writes, "is that nothing is fun until you're good at it." The question that
keeps popping up in mind during such situations is does becoming super-accomplished make up
for years of stress?

-BIRTHDAY CARDS: Chua threw unimpressive birthday cards back at her young girls and
ordered them to make better ones. Being pressured into perfection even in fun activities is almost
crazed, she fails to realize that nothing compares to the lesson one learns from messing things up
every now and then.

Readers will alternately gasp at and empathize with Chua's struggles and aspirations, all the
while enjoying her writing, which, like her kid-rearing philosophy, is brisk, lively and no-holds-
barred. This memoir raises intriguing, sometimes uncomfortable questions about love, pride,
ambition, achievement and self-worth that will resonate among success-obsessed parents.

Ending a parenting story when one child is only 15 seems premature; in fact, it might not be
possible to really understand the impact of Chua's efforts until her daughters have offspring of
their own. Perhaps, a sequel would be great in this case.

Lessons Learnt from the Perspective of Management and

Human Resource Management.

Since this book is a memoir on parenting and raising exceedingly successful children, the tactics
used by Amy Chua can be applied to an organization in different ways. The lessons that this book
provides when it comes to carving a path of success are entirely priceless and worth nothing. The
two most important parenting tricks applied by Chua that can be linked to management and
Human Resource Management are:

-PARENTS NEED TO BE PROACTIVE: Chua suggests that unlike dogs, children are not
merely pets. You cant just let them BE. Parents need to actively participate in the lives of their
children. Similarly, in an organization, there are employees and you cant just let them be. You
have to be a part of their work life, all the while training them, polishing their skills and giving
them direction, just like Chua. It is essential for an organization to have training programs as
soon as the employees are recruited and then you need to continue to train them during their life
in the organization. Various practices such as appraisals, talent management, succession
planning, industrial and labor relations need to be proactively monitored in order to enrich the
employees and bring out the best in them.

--FOR A BETTER PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP, ALLOW CHILDREN TO MAKE

THEIR OWN CHOICES: Chua concludes this is the one thing she didnt give her children in the
beginning and wishes she had. Once she let her rebellious child, Lulu, decide what she wanted to
do, Lulu showed that she had the basis (after years of violin training) to excel at tennis. This
imparts a lesson of how an organization should always give breathing space to their employees
and not be increasingly autocratic in their approach because it may end up getting the tasks done
but the levels of happiness among the employees could drop to an all-time low. Organizations
could save themselves from making the mistake Chua did and allow them to come up with
valuable feedback, solutions and ideas on their own. Since employees and frontline workers are
the ones performing the tasks, sometimes they know what is best better than their heads.
Allowing them to do what they wish to would ensure a simultaneous blend of happiness and
success, which is the most desired state for employees in an organization.
Achieving the perfect mix of the above two would ensure not just a healthy and happy
parenthood, but also the most productive and goal oriented workforce. Chua without a doubt
knows how to hit the nail on the head, with the strong lessons she imparts, the Battle Hymn of
Tiger Mother truly impresses the readers.