The Lady and the Panda

副标题: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal

ISBN: 9780375507830

出版社: Random House

出版年: 2005-7-5

页数: 400

定价: USD 25.95

装帧: Hardcover

内容简介

《淑女与熊猫：首位从中国带回其最富异国情调动物的美国女探险家的真实经历》

During the Great Depression, inexpensive entertainment could be had at any city zoo. The exploits of the utterly macho men who bagged the beasts also made good adventure-film fodder. Yet one of the most famous animals ever brought to America—the giant panda—was captured by a woman, Ruth Harkness. Vicki Constantine Croke, the "Animal Beat" columnist for the Boston Globe, became fascinated by bohemian socialite Harkness, who was left alone and in difficult financial straits in 1936 after her husband died trying to bring a giant panda back from China. Instead of mourning, Harkness took on the mission. Arriving in Hong Kong with "a whiskey soda in one hand and a Chesterfield in the other," she soon found herself up against ruthless competitors, bandits, foul weather and warfare. Luckily, she was accompanied by the handsome and capable Quentin Young, her Chinese guide and eventual lover. This gripping book retraces their steps through the isolated and rugged wilderness where pandas hide, and then back to America, where the strange bears took the West by storm. Despite her remarkable journey, Harkness was derided and ignored by male adventurers.

作者简介

露丝?哈克内斯 著名美国传奇服装设计师、探险家，三十年代纽约社交界优雅迷人的宠儿。

1934露丝与探险家比尔?哈克内斯结婚，婚后两个星期，比尔即前往中国，希望成为第一个捕获大熊猫的西方人，在这之前，已经有很多人从事过这样的探险活动，均以失败而告终。比尔的探险旅行也遭失败，并在中国凄凉地死去。这一切令露斯伤心欲绝，从来没有野外探险的经验的她作出一个重要的决定：重拾丈夫旧梦，将探险作为自己终生的追求，把第一只活生生的大熊猫带回美国。

露丝的探险旅行持续了数月之久，历尽千辛万苦并耗尽了她所有的钱财。当她最终怀抱一只名叫苏琳的熊猫宝宝，神奇地回到美国时，她的探险故事成为轰动国际社会的重大新闻，登上了全世界各大报纸的头版。历史上，从未有过任何动物引起过如此广泛的反响。露斯?哈克内斯成了一位真正的英雄。

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