"Tiger Mom" Amy Chua, the Yale professor who emphasized that strict, Chinese-style mothers are best in her book "The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," has released another hackle-raising book that's expected to raise more than a few cultural eyebrows.
The Yale professor's latest book, "The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America," boldly declared eight cultural groups as more superior than the rest.
Tiger Mom Chua's book, though not due for release until February 2014, has already prompted a massive response, with many critics calling the professor "racist" and a self-promoter.
According to the book which was co-written by Jed Rubenfield, Tiger Mom Chua's hhusband and Yale professor, the reality is that "uncomfortable as it may be to talk about," some "religious, ethnic, and national-origin groups are starkly more successful than others."
In the book, the couple pointed out ethnic groups Cuban exiles, Indian Americans, Iranian Americans, Chinese Americans, Lebaneses Americans, American Jews, Nigerian Americans and Iranian Americans as the most successful cultural groups in child-rearing.
Tiger Mom Chua also emphasized that the reason for their success is due to a basic "triple package" formula: insecurity, superiority complex and impulse control.
The book was called "comprehensive, lucid psychological study" by a Publishers Weekly review, pointing out that it attempts to balance its findings with the disadvantages of the "triple package."
Authors Chua and Rubenfield addressed the issue of cultural stereotyping around the beginning of the book, saying, "Throughout this book, we will never make a statement about any group's economic performance or predominant cultural attitudes unless it is backed up by solid evidence, whether empirical, historical, or sociological. But when there are differences between groups, we will come out and say so."
The couple added that "no group and no culture is monolithic."
Their explanation hasn't pacified critics. Asian American Studies Program director Peter Kiang of the University of Massachusetts Boston said in an email interview that he believes the authors' claims were mostly intended to enhance marketing and publicity for the book.
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
