Thread Of The Silkworm
New York: Basic Books, 1995. First Printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. xvii, [1], 329, [3] pages. Notes. Index. Cover has minor wear and soiling. The definitive biography of Tsien Hsue-Shen, the pioneer of the American space age who was mysteriously accused of being a communist, deported, and became, to America's continuing chagrin, the father of the Chinese missile program. Iris Shun-Ru Chang (March 28, 1968 – November 9, 2004) was an American journalist, author and political activist. She is best known for her best-selling 1997 account of the Nanking Massacre, The Rape of Nanking, and in 2003, The Chinese in America: A Narrative History. Chang is the subject of the 2007 biography Finding Iris Chang, and the 2007 documentary film Iris Chang: The Rape of Nanking starring Olivia Cheng as Iris Chang] The independent 2007 documentary film Nanking was based on her work and dedicated to her memory. Her first book, Thread of the Silkworm tells the life story of the Chinese professor, Qian Xuesen (or Tsien Hsue-shen) during the Red Scare in the 1950s. Qian was one of the founders of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and for many years helped the military of the United States debrief scientists from Nazi Germany. He was suddenly accused of being a spy and a member of the Communist Party USA, and was under house arrest from 1950 to 1955. Qian left for the People's Republic of China in 1955. Upon his return to China, Qian developed the Dongfeng missile program, and later the Silkworm missile, which was used by the Iraqi military during its war on Iran and against the United States-led coalitions during the Persian Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. More