Baseball DIY

Iris Chang did not play or write about baseball. Her life, in fact, seems to have been completely devoid of all sports. Of course I don't know that for sure, she could have been a huge fan of anything, but as for her professional life, it wasn't about ball. What she did was write one of the most important history books to be published in recent years, The Rape of Nanking. It recounts the events surrounding the Japanese invasion of China prior to WW2 and particularly the destruction of the city of Nanking. It's an event that has been an open wound for the Chinese and largely ignored and denied by the Japanese; one of the ugly moments in history that everyone seems to want to go away. Iris Chang did not believe in letting history disappear. She was an amazing writer and more than that, she wrote about things that mattered.

Iris died in November last year, from suicide. The San Francisico Chronicle has a very sad but thorough story about the last few months of life and what might have led to her death. Read the article, but more importantly, read the book.

The best way to remember her is to pass on the story she told. And trust me, she was someone who should be remembered.