Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
After being awarded a Ph.D. by the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Univ. of Iowa but having his thesis passed over for a prestigious prize, Chinese exchange student Lu Lang shot three faculty members, the graduate student, Shan Linhua, who won the prize, a university associate v-p and, finally, himself. Although the academic pressures in the department were enormous, they hardly explain the murders. Los Angeles Times staffer Chen (Cheating Death) shows Lu to have been a scientific genius but an immature individual and a misfit not only among American students but with his fellow Chinese, who shunned him. Furthermore, he was furiously jealous of Shan, another genius but a well-adjusted extrovert. The convergence of these strains prompted the violence, Chen shows in this searching study. Photos not seen by PW. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
This is a compact account of the 1991 mass murder at the University of Iowa by a brilliant Chinese physics student and of the conflicting currents of culture and personality that led to the tragedy. Both Lu Gang and Shan Linhua were outstanding students in China. Both were chosen for their intellects to pursue graduate studies in the United States. But there the similarities ended. Lu was a loner who found it difficult to make friends and who was quick to take offense at social and professional slights. Shan, on the other hand, was handsome, popular, and athletic. When Lu was humiliated in front of his peers while defending his thesis, and when Shan received a coveted academic prize, Lu became convinced that there was a conspiracy to deprive him of the success he felt he deserved. Eventually, he bought two handguns and systematically executed Shan, three physics professors, and two other university employees before killing himself. Chen (Cheating Death, NAL/Dutton, 1992) vividly evokes the pressure-cooker atmosphere of graduate school science programs, faulting the university for not heeding the warning signs and for not providing an adequate outlet for student grievances. As journalism, his book is successful, but it fails to explore the deep human dimensions of the tragedy. Nevertheless, this will be popular in all true crime collections.-Ben Harrison, East Orange P.L., N.J. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A pedestrian retelling of a true crime case involving mass murder at the University of Iowa. A science-policy reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the child of Chinese immigrants, Chen (Cheating Death, not reviewed) was intrigued by the November 1, 1991, killings. Several of the victims and their killer, Lu Gang, were physicists: Lu and his principal target were from China. Unfortunately, Chen's attempt to probe potentially interesting subjects yields little insight. Moreover, his narrative, though readable, is compromised by melodramatic tendencies and a dubious effort to present Lu's inner thoughts. The story is cast as one of rivalry. Lu was haughty, socially awkward, and a poor English speaker. Shan Linhua, wiith whom he briefly shared an apartment, was humble, athletic, sociable, and fluent in English. Both survived harsh competition to get government sponsorship for graduate school in the US. In Iowa City, Lu's work proceeded apace, but he regularly struck out with women, and his forays into the sex industry embarrassed his Chinese friends. Lu's sense of grievance grew as he learned he could not transfer into business school and lost financial aid. The hardworking Shan began to eclipse the more aloof Lu within the physics department, getting his Ph.D. before Lu and with a higher average. Lu was devastated when asked to redefend his thesis and infuriated when Shan's dissertation was nominated for a university award. He bought guns, watched violent movies, and plotted revenge. Having sent money and a self-pitying letter back home, Lu proceeded to an informal physics department seminar and then to the Office of Academic Affairs, killing five people, including Shan, and then turning a gun on himself. Only very briefly, in an epilogue, does Chen raise the question of how universities might do more to prevent such episodes. Less interesting than the headlines promised. (16 pages of photos, not seen)
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