Holiday Party 2013 Charitable Gifts Message from Diane

2013 Designated Book Recipient:  Cardiac Unit, Rady's Childrens Hospital

Many of you may have known Ron Kopensky.  Ron was a Trails neighbor for many years.  He was a successful State Farm insurance agent, dedicated Girls Youth Basketball coach, great tennis player, and all-around tremendous person.  Ron suffered a fatal heart attack on October 29th and leaves behind a wonderful wife, Theresa, and daughter, Katie.  In his memory, I thought it would be a nice tribute to Ron to direct our book giving this holiday season to the cardiac patients at Children's Hospital.  The Child Life Specialist in the Cardiac Care unit requested the titles below; she stated that a few copies of each would be very much appreciated - so don't worry about duplications.  Please feel free to pick any title and bring to the Holiday Party on December 14th.  No need to wrap your gift.  I will make sure that they are delivered to Rady's.  (fyi:  I checked Amazon; all of these titles are available online; some are out of print and some may not arrive until after Christmas but please just know that whatever you can do will be much appreciated.)

Many thanks, Diane

A Day with the Animal Doctors by Rentta

Going to the Hospital-by Anna Civardi

Sometimes-by Rebecca Elliott

My Visit to the Dr (Tiny Tales)-by Rebecca Finn

Hospital (First Time) - by Jess Stockham

Topsy and Tim Go to the Hospital –by Jean and Gareth Anderson

I Don’t Want to Go to the Hospital (Little Princess Books)- by Tony Ross

December Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
Bookclub at Kim's had a nice little group of 5. Books suggested for March:

"The Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline ** winner
"The Lacuna" by Barbara Kingsolver
"Solar" by Ian McEwan

Our next gig:

Holiday Party at Diane and Chuck's!!

Saturday December 14

7PM

discussing "The Sport's Gene"

Please email Diane your RSVP with what you will bring to our party potluck table. Details of our charity effort to follow... Diane is just waiting for some guidance from the recipients.

Jolly reading!
LK

November Bookclub News I

Dear Bookclub,
Our next meeting will be at Kim's on November 21st to discuss "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini. Please RSVP to Kim :

   kbohart@aol.com
 

Jan has sent a link to an interesting website with a great video related to our December read, "The Sports Gene". Click on Tracy O'Hara (who won 3 NCAA's)
 
Please check it out!

Www.secretsofthechampions.com <http://Www.secretsofthechampions.com>  and go to tracy ohara polevault


 Finally, thanks to Sue, Karen, Lori and Julie who have volunteered for 2014 already. Did I miss anyone else? Don't forget to pick a month and let me know your preference.
Thanks so much!

Happy Reading,
LK

 

October 24 Recap

It was an evening aglow at Karens's with loads of pumpkins, butternut squash soup, homemade pickles, and rhubarb bread, among other goodies. I know we usually don't emphasize the food, but it was a fall feast. Karen, please share any recipes!

"The Aviator's Wife" provoked good discussion about what was true and what is even known. Those present, voted on Karen's proposed three enticing selections for our February read:

1) "The Sandcastle Girls" by Chris Bojhalian ****won hands down
2) "At Home in the World" by Joyce Maynard
3) "Making the Most of the Bonus Years of your Life: by Abigail Trafford

Next month, we discuss "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini at Kim's on November 21st.

Please RSVP kbohart@aol.com.

Happy Halloween from Whiskey!

Bookclub tonight at Karen's, discussing "The Aviator's Wife". Another great selection that I hope you can read even if you aren't able to attend tonight's gathering.

Also, at the start of this busy holiday season, you may enjoy placing Anne Morrow Lindbergh's, "Gift from the Sea" by your bedside for balancing thoughts. I have been rereading it after "The Aviator's Wife" and it is truly a timeless gem. I only grind my teeth and moan a little bit now.

The voting is closed with 7 members voting on our three selections (see last post) for January. "The Rosie Project" it is!

It is time to think about volunteering to host for 2014. I suggest viewing our 2013 history and maybe take the same old month or whatever works best for you. Please email me your preference and I will coordinate.

Happy Reading,
LK

October Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,

"The Aviator's Wife" has taken over my every reading moment the last few days. It is really good! (I am definitely going to read more by Melanie Benjamin.)

  Hope you are able to read this fantastic novel about Anne Morrow Lindberg, if you haven't already, and join in the discussion at Karen's on October 24th. Please RSVP to Karen ASAP.

Lynn T. had one suggestion at the September meeting for our next selection vote. She asked me for a couple of other ideas, which I have added to the list below. Please vote (email me) for the January selection from the following possibilities:

from Lynn T:  

 The Last Winter of Dani Lancing by P.D. Viner 

A riveting psychological thriller in the tradition of Before I Go to Sleep and Memento that introduces P. D. Viner as a master of suspense.

from Lynn K: 

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

 Dear Life by Alice Munro

Alice Munro, master of the short story, just received the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature yesterday!  I propose Munro's "Dear Life", which has been awarded:

 A New York Times Notable Book
A Washington Post Notable Work of Fiction
A Best Book of the Year: The Atlantic, NPR, San Francisco Chronicle, Vogue, AV Club




Thank you and happy reading,
LK  

Meeting reminder and more

Dear Bookclub,
Julie sent me this very entertaining blurb from the Washington Post's coverage of the 2013 Library of Congress National Book Festival. Don't be intimidated; it is from cartoonist, Lynda Barry:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lynda-barry-the-20-stages-of-reading/2013/09/13/e82fd970-1cbf-11e3-a628-7e6dde8f889d_gallery.html?hpid=z8


Looking forward to our meeting with author Susan Meissner at Lynn T.'s on Thursday at 7PM.
Hope to see you there. Please RSVP if you haven't already:

lynntenuto@yahoo.com

Happy Reading,
LK

Branch at the Encinitas Meditation Garden

New dates, December selection and sisterhood

Dear Bookclub,

What an endearing email outpouring from The Novel Group for Martha and our sisterhood.

 Confirmation that one can't learn everything from books :)

October and November meetings have been moved to one week later. Please see the calendar to the right for details.  

The December selection is one that will tantalize the idea of nature vs. nurture. Epstein, a Sports Illustrated senior writer, examines the root of athletic success. I think you will enjoy his findings, ponder your own observations and experiences, and be prepared to share your amazement!

Review: ‘The Sports Gene,’ on the science of athletic performance, by David Epstein

 from the Washington Post, Steven V. Roberts, September 6, 2013

Donald Thomas was bragging to his pals on the college track team about his dunking skills on the basketball court. So they bet that he couldn’t clear 6-feet-6-inches in a high-jump contest. When Thomas sailed over a bar set at seven feet, the losers urged their coach to recruit him. Eighteen months later, he won the world championship.

Albert Pujols is one of the best baseball players of his age, but when facing Jennie Finch, a softball pitcher who threw underhanded, he struck out. Badly.

Nature vs. nurture was probably a trending topic when sports fans exchanged text messages carved into clay tablets during the Olympic Games in ancient Greece. It still is, and Thomas certainly reinforces the naturists. Turns out the guy has “a giant’s Achilles tendon” that acts as a huge spring when he jumps.

Pujols illustrates the counterargument. His “simple reaction time” is nothing special, but he has amassed a vast “mental database” about big league pitching that effectively enables him to “see into the future.” He guesses — no, he knows — exactly where and when a ball will cross home plate. But against Finch, he had no database. He was “stripped of his crystal ball.” So he whiffed.
In his fascinating book “The Sports Gene,” David Epstein — a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and a former college runner — comes to a compelling if not surprising conclusion: Nature and nurture are both essential ingredients for athletic achievement. “The truth is, even at the most basic level, it’s always a hardware and software story,” he writes. “Sport skill acquisition does not happen without both specific genes and a specific environment, and often the genes and the environment must coincide at a specific time.”

Of course, software and environment can cover many factors — fair and unfair. Distance runners know, for example, that there’s a “sweet spot,” between 6,000 and 9,000 feet, “where the air is thin but not too thin.” Training at that altitude increases lung capacity in a legitimate way. But others, from cyclists to baseball players, have tried to enhance their “software” through drugs, not dedication, and policing those cheaters is a major problem for many sports. See Armstrong, Lance, and Rodriguez, Alex.

Many researchers and writers are reluctant to tackle genetic issues because they fear the quicksand of racial and ethnic stereotyping. To his credit, Epstein does not flinch. He reviews the best scientific studies and reports that, on average, black athletes run faster and jump higher than white ones.
But that’s not because of skin color. It’s because they are descended from tribes living in low, hot, dry climates. And over countless generations of natural selection, those Africans reproduced traits well adapted to their environment: long legs, short torsos, narrow pelvic bones. The same qualities also happen to make excellent power forwards and wide receivers. (Short-limbed Europeans and Asians, by the way, are better at weightlifting and gymnastics.) “So this is not strictly about ethnicity so much as geography,” Epstein writes. “Or latitude and climate to be more precise.”

Many other factors mix with genetic propensities, but they are much harder to measure. One small region of Jamaica has produced “an extravagant number of the world’s top sprinters.” Many are descendants of escaped slaves from Africa who created a fierce warrior culture in a remote corner of the island. Nature or nurture? Obviously both.

According to one researcher, Yannis Pitsilades, this is what happened. The “genetic stock” of those Jamaican sprinters started with the “strong people” seized and sold as slaves. Only the “strongest of those strong” were able to survive the “brutal voyage” to the New World, flee bondage and flourish in the wilderness. So genetics was enhanced by experience. For these Jamaicans, speed was essential — to escape, to hunt, to fight. Not everyone agrees with Pitsilades, but sprinter Michael Johnson, winner of four Olympic gold medals, does. “Slavery has benefited descendants like me,” he says. “I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us.”
   Or take a less dramatic factor. Jamaicans worship sprinters the way Americans celebrate sluggers. So the top Jamaican athletes are self-sortedinto one narrow specialty, just as talented young Canadians play hockey and the best Brazilians focus on soccer.
Some of those traditional patterns are disintegrating under the impact of globalization, however. Sports are a huge business with vast profits at stake, and success at the most elite level demands highly specialized and hard-to-find body types — not just sport by sport, but position by position.
And the best specimens can now be recruited from anywhere. Natives of the Dominican Republic tend to have the perfect build for a major league infielder — short, slender, nimble. But few of them can block pass rushers or grab rebounds. The NBA has been “scouring the globe for giants” and has found them in Serbia, Croatia and Lithuania. Nigerian and Samoan names now dot NFL rosters, mostly as defensive backs.

“As the expanding universe of sports physiques has sped outward,” Epstein writes, “finding those increasingly rare bodies has fostered an increasingly extensive, and expensive, global talent search.”
A few questions emerge. Genetic testing for athletes? Epstein acknowledges the risks of discrimination but comes down in favor. Genetic mutations can cause enlarged hearts or increase the risk of head injuries. Testing can lead to better vigilance and greater safety. It can also identify athletes with certain traits or propensities, but Epstein warns that genetic makeup, by itself, is never a guarantee of success. Another quality is always necessary — passion, intensity, heart.

“Acknowledging the existence of talent and of genes that influence athletic potential in no way detracts from the work it takes for that talent to be transformed into achievement,” he writes.
Genetic selection? Epstein cites only one deliberate case among humans. The very tall parents of Yao Ming, the gigantic Chinese basketball player, were “brought together for breeding purposes by the Chinese basketball federation.” An intriguing footnote: Some of world’s best pure athletes are Alaskan sled dogs, and they have been heavily bred for one quality above all — not speed or strength, but desire.

I have only one complaint: The narrative slows down when the author shows off what he knows about the arcane details of genetic science. In all, however, this is a fine book with a moral message. “Each of us is like the hero in a Greek tragedy,” Epstein writes, “circumscribed by nature, but left to alter our fate within the boundaries.”

The fans at Olympus knew that. We should, too.

 

Steven V. Roberts teaches journalism and politics at George Washington University and is writing a book about immigrant athletes in America.

September Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
I am sorry to have missed the well-attended (by the well-read) bookclub meeting at Julie's on Thursday August 15. I was on my way to Las Vegas, tearfully finishing the book on Southwest.... lovely!  I am sure we will have future references to "Me Before You"... it was such an enjoyable and powerful book. Please read it if you haven't.

Next month, our selection is
"The Girl in the Glass" by Susan Meissner.

Lori is a friend of Sue's... and she is coming to our meeting at Lynn T.'s. This should be fun and very interesting! Lori met Sue at church where her husband is the pastor. She has four children, all 20ish... one of us :)  Susan, (her pen name), was born and raised in San Diego but has lived all over the world since she married Bob, a chaplain in the Air Force.  At the age of 8, Susan started writing with the encouragement of several teachers. Unable to really write until her children were in school, she became prolific. "The Girl in the Glass" is her 12th published novel, and like her others, contemporary fiction with a historical thread running through; this one taking place in Florence. Enjoy!

 

Please RSVP to Lynn T about attending the September 19th meeting.

August Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,

This Thursday, August 1st, I will host a discussion for "The Light in the Ruins" by Chris Bohjalian. We never got a chance to discuss the book during our last meeting; it had just been released so many had not yet read it and the opportunity did not arise with the exciting dinner and author presentation. We need to talk! This will be from 5-7ish... RSVP lynnkaufman@gmail.com.

Our official August meeting will be Thursday, August 15th at Julie's to discuss, "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes. I know, not another book about a British girl hired to care for a quadriplegic....   but be prepared... this one is going to be memorable. Keep your Kleenex handy for a good read awaits.

Please take a look at the NY Times book review:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/books/review/me-before-you-by-jojo-moyes.html?_r=0

Hope you can attend!
 RSVP      sjstock2@gmail.com


Happy Reading,
LK

Christmas in July!

Dear Bookclub,
It is never too early to get your calendar in order, especially for our holiday party. Chuck and Diane Cashion have very graciously offered to host the 2013 celebration on Saturday December 14th at 7 PM!!
Please update your calendar and then you may forget about Christmas again for quite sometime.

No-noel-yet,

LK

An evening with Chris Bohjalian

Dear Bookclub,
We had a great evening July 18 starting with dinner at Herringbone's in La Jolla.
A picture is worth a thousand words - or a 10 line text:

Who is that man??

Why, it's Chris Bohjalian, the author joining us, of course!! Thanks to Diane, who surprised the group, Chris joined us and shared some great stories and literary chat.

After our dinner, we walked the few short blocks to Warwick's to hear Chris present. It was a real treat!


We really never got a chance to discuss the book and I would love to do so if anyone is interested. I would be happy to host in the next couple of weeks... please let me know if you want to join and I will put you in our email loop to arrange a date.

Happy Reading!
LK

July Bookclub

At the last meeting, a summer outing was concocted for July!  This idea was too tempting to disregard and so here is the plan:

On Thursday July 18, we will start with dinner at Herringbone in La Jolla, a Brian Malarkey restaurant. (Actually, we'll start with carpooling..) From there we will walk a few short blocks to Warwick's for Chris Bohjalian's discussion of his latest book, "The Light in the Ruins".  

 http://www.herringboneeats.com

Good food, lots of chat time and  a bookclub with Chris again - but this time in person! History: Recall our phone-in-led-discussion with him at Diane's in September 2006 for "Before You Know Kindness"?! ( I loved that we had a pre-meeting to organize our discussion!! We are so varsity.)  Also, our bookclub read "The Double Bind" in September 2007 and "Skeletons at the Feast" in November 2009.

Logistics: Please RSVP to me ASAP. I have made a reservation at Herringbone's for 5:30 for 6 and will adjust it as our group grows or shrinks. To attend the Warwick's event, you must make a reservation directly with them by calling and reserving a seat (858 454.0347). There is a limit of 70 (just a handful had reserved a few days ago when I tested the waters) and you are required to purchase a book in advance for your reservation. The book is not released until July 9.

Reading, reading, reading!
It will be a challenge to read the book perhaps by the event because of the timing of the published release. We plan to discuss at dinner, "Gone Girl", "Bend, not Break" and anything 'Bohjalian'.

So read  or re-read one of his great novels ("Before You Know Kindness", "Midwives", "Secrets of Eden", "Double Bind", "The Sandcastle Girls", "Skeletons at the Feast", "The Night Strangers".... does this man ever sleep??)  if you like, or ambitiously, get the new one and be in on the latest. It's all good! Will be so much fun to be together and enjoy the bookclub buzz.

Church ladies with typewriters

Please read these aloud to a loved one - they are hysterical:

http://www.rawfoodinfo.com/articles/art_churchumor.html

Bookclub at Diane's 6/20/2013

It was a beautiful super moon night on Diane's spectacular back patio. Another intimate meeting with Barb, Diane and I, we had a great time catching up and discussing "Bend, Not Break", as well as a few points about "Gone Girl". Please read "Bend, Not Break" if you haven't already. An interesting and inspirational journey from Ping Fu's childhood in China to her tech creation, Geomagic, in North Carolina. You will be touched by her spirit.
Check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bend,_Not_Break

and:
http://www.geomagic.com

And finally, please view the vine!!!

https://vine.co/v/hu5UXHPPBZw

Super moon

Bend, Not Break

 




Our next meeting is 7 PM on June 20th at Diane's. Please RSVP dianecashion@sbcglobal.net

Our selection, "Bend, Not Break" is Ping Fu's story of her tumultuous childhood during China's cultural revolution. Upon doing research for this selection, I immediately noticed an alarming lack-lustre 2 stars from 804 reviews on Amazon. My heart sank. I had a recent experience of recommending and reading a well-received and much touted book, "She Matters" to my 'other' bookclub. It was just awful and I was frustrated and perplexed by the discrepancy between the promised read and the reality. I re-read the reviews and searched my perceptions for the chasm. I could only conclude that the author had friends in high places and that her memoir reflected what an unlikeable person she must be.

However, continued perusing of the Amazon site showed glowing reviews from stalwart sources causing the little hairs on the back of my neck to arise. Then there was a statement from the authors about the cyberwar against the book from Chinese commenters who obviously had not read the book. Please see the author's defense in an article in The Daily Beast:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/04/ping-fu-defends-bend-not-break-memoir-against-online-chinese-attack.html

I am hopeful that this book will provide great discussion - the story itself and the story of its publication. (PS 298 pages!) Below is the smattering from Amazon:

Review

In this outstanding testament to the resilience of the human spirit, Ping takes readers on a journey both heartbreaking and inspiring.
--Publisher Weekly Review, 11/5/2012
read more at
publishersweekly.com/978-1-59184-552-2

“She tells her story with intelligence, verve and a candor that is often heart-rending....Her life story is moving and inspiring. Like the people who gave her a helping hand, she is generous to share it with us.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“In this outstanding testament to the resilience of the human spirit, Ping takes readers on a journey both heartbreaking and inspiring . . . Ping’s eloquent prose and remarkable attitude shine through in every word.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)

“An inspiring story . . . the book reflects the tone of its author: clear, honest and unassuming.”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS

 “This well-written tale of courage, compassion, and undaunted curiosity reveals the life of a genuine hero who remains committed to making the world a better place.”
—BOOKLIST (starred review)

“This is an utterly unique memoir, a fascinating look at one woman’s journey from a difficult childhood in Mao’s China to the top of the American tech world.”
—TONY HSIEH, CEO of Zappos.com; author of Delivering Happiness

“Do not read this book if you reject kindness, humility, and ingenuity. With staggering authenticity and zero cliché, Ping’s story will shock you to your core. Your notion of human capacity will be redefined. It’s Rocky, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Gone With the Wind—all in one.”
—SALLY ROSENTHAL, executive producer of the documentary Between the Folds

“There are few people in our world who embody optimism like Ping Fu. She shows us how the human spirit can endure amazing hardship to find happiness, joy, and astounding success.”
—SIMON SINEK, author of Start with Why

“I could not put this book down. From surviving the insanity of China’s Cultural Revolution to the cutthroat antics of hi-tech venture capitalism, from low-life outcast to billionaire dealer—it’s amazing to believe this all happened in one person’s life. The lessons Ping Fu has so artfully accumulated are inspiring, heartening, educating, and entertaining.”
—KEVIN KELLY, Senior Maverick, Wired; author of What Technology Wants

“Resilience is the most essential element of life and business today, and there is no more shining role model for resilience (and grace and humility and a bunch of other qualities) than Ping Fu. The story of how she fled China under precarious circumstances, made a new life in the United States, and built a vibrant company should be required reading.”
—CHIP CONLEY, founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality; author of Peak and Emotional Equations

From the Author

We are the co-authors of "Bend, Not Break." Our customer review section contains hundreds of reviews from people who have not read the book. Positive reviews are systematically voted down just minutes after they are posted by a mass of "reviewers" with no Amazon history. Major news organizations, both in print and online, have covered the situation. "The Persecution of Ping Fu" written by Harold Evans puts this cyber-war in excellent context. Our book also has received many wonderful reviews by readers and professional book reviewers. We do hope you will read and love it! Thank you for the understanding and support.

From the Inside Flap

""Bamboo is flexible, bending with the wind but never breaking, capable of adapting to any circumstance. It suggests resilience, meaning that we have the ability to bounce back even from the most difficult times. . . . Your ability to thrive depends, in the end, on your attitude to your life circumstances. Take everything in stride with grace, putting forth energy when it is needed, yet always staying calm inwardly." --Ping Fu's "Shanghai Papa" Ping Fu knows what it's like to be a child soldier, a factory worker, and a political prisoner. To be beaten and raped for the crime of being born into a well-educated family. To be deported with barely enough money for a plane ticket to a bewildering new land. To start all over, without family or friends, as a maid, waitress, and student. Ping Fu also knows what it's like to be a pioneering software programmer, an innovator, a CEO, and Inc. magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year. To be a friend and mentor to some of the best-known names in tech­nology. To build some of the coolest new products in the world. To give speeches that inspire huge crowds. To meet and advise the president of the United States. It sounds too unbelievable for fiction, but this is the true story of a life in two worlds. Born on the eve of China's Cultural Revolution, Ping was separated from her family at the age of eight. She grew up fighting hunger and humiliation and shielding her younger sister from the teenagers in Mao's Red Guard. At twenty-five, she found her way to the United States; her only resources were $80 in traveler's checks and three phrases of English: thank you, hello, and help. Yet Ping persevered, and the hard-won lessons of her childhood guided her to success in her new home­land. Aided by her well-honed survival instincts, a few good friends, and the kindness of strangers, she grew into someone she never thought she'd be--a strong, independent, entrepreneurial leader. A love of problem solving led her to computer science, and Ping became part of the team that created NCSA Mosaic, which became Netscape, the Web browser that forever changed how we access information. She then started a company, Geomagic, that has literally reshaped the world, from personalizing prosthetic limbs to repair­ing NASA spaceships. Bend, Not Break depicts a journey from imprisonment to freedom, and from the dogmatic anticapitalism of Mao's China to the high-stakes, take-no-prisoners world of technology start-ups in the United States. It is a tribute to one woman's courage in the face of cruelty and a valuable lesson on the enduring power of resilience."

From the Back Cover

Do not read this book if you reject kindness, humility, and ingenuity. With staggering authenticity and zero cliché, Ping's story will shock you to your core. Suspend all assumptions. Take nothing for granted. Nothing. You will not be able to put this book down. When you're done, your notion of human capacity will be redefined. It's 'Rocky,' 'My Fair Lady,' 'The Sound of Music,' 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' and 'Gone With the Wind' -- all in one.
--Sally Rosenthal, executive producer of Peabody Award-winning documentary 'Between the Folds'

I could not put this book down. From surviving the insanity of China's Cultural Revolution to the cutthroat antics of hi-tech venture capitalism, from low-life outcast to billionaire dealer--it's amazing to believe this all happened in one person's life. The lessons Ping Fu has so artfully accumulated are inspiring, heartening, educating, and entertaining. I defy anyone to read this book and not come away with a greater commitment to follow through with their plans, and a desire to invent their own lives.
--Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick, Wired, and author, 'What Technology Wants'

Intensely personal and moving, Bend, Not Break will change the way you think about what it takes to make it in America. Ping's journey to becoming a top tech guru had many roadblocks but her relentless optimism and belief in the good of others kept her going. Hers is a true success story.
--James Goodnight, founder & CEO of SAS, ranked #1 in 2011 and top ten of 100 best companies to work for nine times by Fortune magazine

There are few people in our world who embody optimism like Ping Fu. Anyone who struggles with adversity or believes that their success and happiness are conditional on their circumstances needs to hear Ping's story. She shows us how the human spirit can endure amazing hardship to find happiness, joy and astounding success. More importantly, Ping shows us how being devoted to others is what carries us forwards. Ping is such an inspiration to me and everyone she meets.
--Simon Sinek, author of 'Start With Why'

Resilience is the most essential element of life and business today, and there is no more shining role model for resilience (and grace and humility and a whole bunch of other qualities) than Ping Fu. The story of how she fled China under precarious circumstances, made a new life in the United States, and built a vibrant company should be required reading.
--Chip Conley, founder of 'Joie de Vivre Hospitality' and author of 'Peak and Emotional Equations'

Ping Fu's life story is the stuff of heroic novels. Not only has she triumphed over adversity most of us can scarcely imagine, but she has managed to draw out of her experience a wealth of practical business lessons. Those lessons, which she presents in Bend, Not Break, have allowed her to emerge as a leading entrepreneur in a technology that is transforming the world of manufacturing, with far-reaching implications for global competition in the 21st century.
--Bo Burlingham, Editor-at-Large of Inc. magazine and author of 'Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big'

 

About the Author

Ping Fu is the founder and CEO of Geomagic, a 3D digital reality solution company. She earned an M.S. in computer science at the University of Illinois and worked at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and AT&T Bell Labs. She is a member of President Obama’s National Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and a board member of Long Now Foundation. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

MeiMei Fox is an author and book editor who also blogs regularly for the Huffington Post.

Happy Reading!
LK