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The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal
Here is the astonishing true story of Ruth Harkness, the Manhattan bohemian socialite who, against all but impossible odds, trekked to Tibet in 1936 to capture the most mysterious animal of the a bear that had for countless centuries lived in secret in the labyrinth of lonely cold mountains. In The Lady and the Panda, Vicki Constantine Croke gives us the remarkable account of Ruth Harkness and her extraordinary journey, and restores Harkness to her rightful place along with Sacajawea, Nellie Bly, and Amelia Earhart as one of the great woman adventurers of all time.
Ruth was the toast of 1930s New York, a dress designer newly married to a wealthy adventurer, Bill Harkness. Just weeks after their wedding, however, Bill decamped for China in hopes of becoming the first Westerner to capture a giant panda–an expedition on which many had embarked and failed miserably. Bill was also to fail in his quest, dying horribly alone in China and leaving his widow heartbroken and adrift. And so Ruth made the fateful decision to adopt her husband’s dream as her own and set off on the adventure of a lifetime.
It was not easy. Indeed, everything was against Ruth Harkness. In decadent Shanghai, the exclusive fraternity of white male explorers patronized her, scorned her, and joked about her softness, her lack of experience and money. But Ruth ignored them, organizing, outfitting, and leading a bare-bones campaign into the majestic but treacherous hinterlands where China borders Tibet. As her partner she chose Quentin Young, a twenty-two-year-old Chinese explorer as unconventional as she was, who would join her in a romance as torrid as it was taboo.
Traveling across some of the toughest terrain in the world–nearly impenetrable bamboo forests, slick and perilous mountain slopes, and boulder-strewn passages–the team raced against a traitorous rival, and was constantly threatened by hordes of bandits and hostile natives. The voyage took months to complete and cost Ruth everything she had. But when, almost miraculously, she returned from her journey with a baby panda named Su Lin in her arms, the story became an international sensation and made the front pages of newspapers around the world. No animal in history had gotten such attention. And Ruth Harkness became a hero.
Drawing extensively on American and Chinese sources, including diaries, scores of interviews, and previously unseen intimate letters from Ruth Harkness, Vicki Constantine Croke has fashioned a captivating and richly textured narrative about a woman ahead of her time. Part Myrna Loy, part Jane Goodall, by turns wisecracking and poetic, practical and spiritual, Ruth Harkness is a trailblazing figure. And her story makes for an unforgettable, deeply moving adventure.
Ruth was the toast of 1930s New York, a dress designer newly married to a wealthy adventurer, Bill Harkness. Just weeks after their wedding, however, Bill decamped for China in hopes of becoming the first Westerner to capture a giant panda–an expedition on which many had embarked and failed miserably. Bill was also to fail in his quest, dying horribly alone in China and leaving his widow heartbroken and adrift. And so Ruth made the fateful decision to adopt her husband’s dream as her own and set off on the adventure of a lifetime.
It was not easy. Indeed, everything was against Ruth Harkness. In decadent Shanghai, the exclusive fraternity of white male explorers patronized her, scorned her, and joked about her softness, her lack of experience and money. But Ruth ignored them, organizing, outfitting, and leading a bare-bones campaign into the majestic but treacherous hinterlands where China borders Tibet. As her partner she chose Quentin Young, a twenty-two-year-old Chinese explorer as unconventional as she was, who would join her in a romance as torrid as it was taboo.
Traveling across some of the toughest terrain in the world–nearly impenetrable bamboo forests, slick and perilous mountain slopes, and boulder-strewn passages–the team raced against a traitorous rival, and was constantly threatened by hordes of bandits and hostile natives. The voyage took months to complete and cost Ruth everything she had. But when, almost miraculously, she returned from her journey with a baby panda named Su Lin in her arms, the story became an international sensation and made the front pages of newspapers around the world. No animal in history had gotten such attention. And Ruth Harkness became a hero.
Drawing extensively on American and Chinese sources, including diaries, scores of interviews, and previously unseen intimate letters from Ruth Harkness, Vicki Constantine Croke has fashioned a captivating and richly textured narrative about a woman ahead of her time. Part Myrna Loy, part Jane Goodall, by turns wisecracking and poetic, practical and spiritual, Ruth Harkness is a trailblazing figure. And her story makes for an unforgettable, deeply moving adventure.
400 pages, Paperback
First published July 5, 2005
93 people are currently reading
1539 people want to read
About the author
Vicki Constantine Croke
11 books60 followersVicki Constantine Croke has been covering pets and wildlife for more than a decade, writing the "Animal Beat" column for The Boston Globe.
Croke is the author of The Lady and the Panda, Animal ER, The Modern Ark, and has also written for Time, People, The Washington Post, and Popular Science, among others.
A former writer and producer for CNN, she has been a contributing reporter for the National Public Radio environment show "Living on Earth" and consults on film and television projects, most recently a two-hour documentary on gorillas for the A&E channel.
Croke is the author of The Lady and the Panda, Animal ER, The Modern Ark, and has also written for Time, People, The Washington Post, and Popular Science, among others.
A former writer and producer for CNN, she has been a contributing reporter for the National Public Radio environment show "Living on Earth" and consults on film and television projects, most recently a two-hour documentary on gorillas for the A&E channel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews
February 4, 2021
Thoughts soon.
March 17, 2025
In The Lady and the Panda, writer Vicki Constantine Croke writes a meticulously-researched biography of American adventurer Ruth Harkness (1900-1947), whose claim to fame was bringing back the first live panda bear from China to the United States (a baby male panda named Su-Lin who resided at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago). Harkness set off on her mission in 1936 after her husband Bill died in China attempting the same objective, and along with a Chinese guide, Quentin Young, she was successful in securing and exporting a baby panda. The ethics of this seem very murky (if not outright wrong) by 21st century standards, though I had to keep reminding myself that the commercial hunting and killing of pandas and other exotic animals was quite normalized during Harkness' time.
The book's title comes from a memoir of the same title Harkness wrote - 1938's The Lady and the Panda. Harkness also left journals and letters, and Croke spent years researching this story and connecting with descendants of Harkness and those involved in her story, even traveling to China in 2002 to retrace Harkness's steps and scatter her ashes in the mountains where Harkness found Su-Lin.
Harkness herself had a troubled and somewhat tragic life, not unlike famous people today who struggle to recapture their old glories and redefine their value and purpose. Her first trip to China in 1936 where she easily found a live panda and returned triumphantly to the US was a high moment for her, but afterwards she seemed adrift. She returned to China several more times trying to find more pandas, returning another to the US, having several die on her, and ultimately setting her final panda free in the mountains, but dwindling finances and World War II terminated her Asian adventures. She spent the rest of her short life exploring South America and battling her inner demons, succumbing to alcoholism in her 40s. One wonders how Harkness would have fared in a different age -- if she were around today, I imagine she might have been a social media influencer in the travelogue space.
Further reading:
Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II by Vicki Constantine Croke | my review - another excellently-researched book by the same author set in a similar time period
My statistics:
Book 84 for 2025
Book 2010 cumulatively
The book's title comes from a memoir of the same title Harkness wrote - 1938's The Lady and the Panda. Harkness also left journals and letters, and Croke spent years researching this story and connecting with descendants of Harkness and those involved in her story, even traveling to China in 2002 to retrace Harkness's steps and scatter her ashes in the mountains where Harkness found Su-Lin.
Harkness herself had a troubled and somewhat tragic life, not unlike famous people today who struggle to recapture their old glories and redefine their value and purpose. Her first trip to China in 1936 where she easily found a live panda and returned triumphantly to the US was a high moment for her, but afterwards she seemed adrift. She returned to China several more times trying to find more pandas, returning another to the US, having several die on her, and ultimately setting her final panda free in the mountains, but dwindling finances and World War II terminated her Asian adventures. She spent the rest of her short life exploring South America and battling her inner demons, succumbing to alcoholism in her 40s. One wonders how Harkness would have fared in a different age -- if she were around today, I imagine she might have been a social media influencer in the travelogue space.
Further reading:
Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II by Vicki Constantine Croke | my review - another excellently-researched book by the same author set in a similar time period
My statistics:
Book 84 for 2025
Book 2010 cumulatively
August 13, 2014
I love reading about the exploits of interesting people traversing parts of the world I’ve never seen, and this exuberant biography of a Manhattan dress designer turned international explorer held me rapt with one caveat that I’ll explain at the end.
Ruth Harkness did not come from a wealthy, sophisticated family, but with determination, a flair for design, and a savvy intelligence that allowed her to read people Harkness managed to create a cosmopolitan New York City life for herself, even in the midst of the 1930’s Great Depression. She fell in love with then married a rich boy adventurer who hoped to be the first to bring a live panda out of China and into the US. When he died in the process, Harkness surprised all her high fashion, socialite friends by deciding she would be the one to take on his mission.
Harkness ended up loving China, especially the wild, rugged, mountainous, densely forested, far western areas where the giant panda makes its home, and it’s thrilling to read about her rough and tumble travels, the variety of local people she spent time with, and the off-the-map exotic places she visited. But Harkness didn’t avoid China’s urban areas entirely. There was plenty of Euro-American drinking and partying when she stopped in international cities like Shanghai to gather the team, funds, and provisions needed for her venture, but unlike many contemporary Westerners she respected the Chinese culture and treated her Chinese expedition guide like a partner, even briefly having a love affair with him.
When Harkness successfully brought a baby panda out of China much was made of the fact that though she was “just a woman” she succeeded where many men had failed--so far the men had been shooting pandas and bringing back their pelts. Harkness treated “her” panda with great care, trying to understand its needs and sacrificing her own comforts, but the caveat I mentioned in the first sentence is that it makes me uncomfortable and sad to read about a baby animal being taken from its mother and native habitat to be put in a zoo. Harkness agonized about this too, even releasing back into the wild another panda she captured.
Other than that, I totally fell under the spell of this lively, enthusiastically written book. The author had access to a trove of personal letters written by Harkness, and retraced some of Harkness’s journey herself, so while reading it was easy to imagine I was right there, experiencing it all myself.
Ruth Harkness did not come from a wealthy, sophisticated family, but with determination, a flair for design, and a savvy intelligence that allowed her to read people Harkness managed to create a cosmopolitan New York City life for herself, even in the midst of the 1930’s Great Depression. She fell in love with then married a rich boy adventurer who hoped to be the first to bring a live panda out of China and into the US. When he died in the process, Harkness surprised all her high fashion, socialite friends by deciding she would be the one to take on his mission.
Harkness ended up loving China, especially the wild, rugged, mountainous, densely forested, far western areas where the giant panda makes its home, and it’s thrilling to read about her rough and tumble travels, the variety of local people she spent time with, and the off-the-map exotic places she visited. But Harkness didn’t avoid China’s urban areas entirely. There was plenty of Euro-American drinking and partying when she stopped in international cities like Shanghai to gather the team, funds, and provisions needed for her venture, but unlike many contemporary Westerners she respected the Chinese culture and treated her Chinese expedition guide like a partner, even briefly having a love affair with him.
When Harkness successfully brought a baby panda out of China much was made of the fact that though she was “just a woman” she succeeded where many men had failed--so far the men had been shooting pandas and bringing back their pelts. Harkness treated “her” panda with great care, trying to understand its needs and sacrificing her own comforts, but the caveat I mentioned in the first sentence is that it makes me uncomfortable and sad to read about a baby animal being taken from its mother and native habitat to be put in a zoo. Harkness agonized about this too, even releasing back into the wild another panda she captured.
Other than that, I totally fell under the spell of this lively, enthusiastically written book. The author had access to a trove of personal letters written by Harkness, and retraced some of Harkness’s journey herself, so while reading it was easy to imagine I was right there, experiencing it all myself.
June 22, 2025
Very good! Outside of Ruth Harkness being an utter badass, how Vicki displays the essence and impact of culture was a treat to read.
May 16, 2021
Blurb from GR's MP: Here is the astonishing true story of Ruth Harkness, the Manhattan bohemian socialite who, against all but impossible odds, trekked to Tibet in 1936 to capture the most mysterious animal of the day
That is what drew me to this book. A woman, in 1936! I needed to know more.
Ruth Harkness, was a newly wed 30 something dress designer. Her husband, Bill, was a wealthy adventurer (yes, that was an occupation back then). Just weeks after their wedding Bill went to China in search of the illusive Panda. Bill failed, and died while in China. Grief stricken, and not sure how to carry on Ruth decided that, in his name, she would fulfill his mission. Needless to say she was laughed at, told to stop being silly and countless other clichés. Ruth persisted and won the respect she deserved by bringing an infant giant panda home to the USA.
What a woman, what a story! I loved it and was glad it caught my attention.
That is what drew me to this book. A woman, in 1936! I needed to know more.
Ruth Harkness, was a newly wed 30 something dress designer. Her husband, Bill, was a wealthy adventurer (yes, that was an occupation back then). Just weeks after their wedding Bill went to China in search of the illusive Panda. Bill failed, and died while in China. Grief stricken, and not sure how to carry on Ruth decided that, in his name, she would fulfill his mission. Needless to say she was laughed at, told to stop being silly and countless other clichés. Ruth persisted and won the respect she deserved by bringing an infant giant panda home to the USA.
What a woman, what a story! I loved it and was glad it caught my attention.
April 5, 2013
She floats through the air with the greatest of ease, the young fashionista on the flying trapeze. Or, a young, attractive rich girl who never worked a day in her life goes on fun jaunts in China and lucks herself into bringing a panda back to the United States. I have to respect the author for laying out an unvarnished book about a woman who was about as unrelateable to me as possible, and making me care.
Reminiscent of the world of explorers pictured in the boyhood dreams of the old man in "Up," the world of "The Lady and the Panda" is every bit as mysterious and romantic. Harkness finds romance in the dashing Quentin Young, who helps her realize her deceased husband's goal of capturing a live panda. Little did she expect that the act would touch off a storm of panda hunting that would essentially cause them to become endangered. To her credit, Harkness realized this and regretted her actions.
Along the way, Croke fashions a picturesque if a bit claustrophobic at times, image of China in the 1930s. I wanted to know more about life in China at the time, rather than just the parties and hoity toity circles where Harkness found herself. And it would have been good to hear more about the last panda, rather than Harkness's descent into depression. And I could have gone without the author's use of the terms Coolie and Mulatto.
Though I found the main character a little repulsive due to her rich girl attitudes and slight depravity, the book still was interesting.
Thanks for reading.
Reminiscent of the world of explorers pictured in the boyhood dreams of the old man in "Up," the world of "The Lady and the Panda" is every bit as mysterious and romantic. Harkness finds romance in the dashing Quentin Young, who helps her realize her deceased husband's goal of capturing a live panda. Little did she expect that the act would touch off a storm of panda hunting that would essentially cause them to become endangered. To her credit, Harkness realized this and regretted her actions.
Along the way, Croke fashions a picturesque if a bit claustrophobic at times, image of China in the 1930s. I wanted to know more about life in China at the time, rather than just the parties and hoity toity circles where Harkness found herself. And it would have been good to hear more about the last panda, rather than Harkness's descent into depression. And I could have gone without the author's use of the terms Coolie and Mulatto.
Though I found the main character a little repulsive due to her rich girl attitudes and slight depravity, the book still was interesting.
Thanks for reading.
April 12, 2011
This one really bothered me a lot. I like memoirs, and this one sounded like it would be fascinating, since the woman managed to bring back a baby panda, alive. She was the first one to do so, and the passion & love she had for the pandas is amazing. But her lifestyle was quite destructive, her choices were also destructive, and I think she changed people's lives not for the better. Very sad story in a lot of ways. I also found it interesting that her young husband who was 35 years old died from lung cancer, ,which had spread. He was a heavy smoker, drank heavily, and it seemed fairly evident that his (and hers!) dissipated lifestyles contributed to their early deaths. One other aspect of this story that was interesting is that the men who travelled with her did their best to diminish the value of her contributions. She funded the trips, she saved the pandas and got them successfully back to the USA, and while it is clear she could not have gotten to the panda habitat without the men, it is also clear that she did some amazing things that no one before her did. Worth reading about the pandas, but not so much the people themselves.
May 18, 2019
I picked this up on a whim at a used book store, and certainly got way more than my $1.50 worth. Adventure! Romance! History! Glamour! Tragedy! Cute animals! This book has all that and more. Highly recommended.
September 8, 2025
Maybe the five star rating on this book is because I have been in such a rut of reading less than satisfying novels lately that this true story of Ruth Harkness and her quest to bring the first giant panda to the United States was much more exciting to me (so I don’t know if this book was just that good or the past few novels I’ve read were just that bad). Nevertheless the lowest rating I would give this book even on a bad day would be a 4 so it’s still a book I’d recommend. And I thank my book club for this selection by the way—which is why I love book club—I would never have chosen this book as something to read but I’m glad I did! I found Ruth Harkness amazing. For a woman who had no exploration experience at all to pick up where her deceased husband left off searching for a giant panda specimen is quite the adventure of a lifetime (especially considering she did this in the 1930s!). Sadly Ruth found little happiness after her journeys came to an end, but she left behind an incredible story.
April 1, 2017
Amazing story- unknown to most people... This is the story of Ruth Harkness, the New York socialite who did what everyone told her was impossible. She went to the wilds of western China and brought back a giant panda to America, the first ever-and to the Brookfield Zoo, to be exact ( of special interest to me, as I live in Brookfield, IL ). This was in the 30s and no one thought a woman could lead an expedition as she did. While the focus is on the woman, other remarkable people are portrayed in this story--and we also get a vivid picture of China in the turbulent Thirties. Very amazingly about Ruth, she fell in love with China and the people-and, unlike other Westerners in China at the time, she did not look upon the Chinese with contempt, but, rather. with respect. Certainly this is a story that deserves to be better known and Vicki Croke has done an outstanding job with this biography. I would have liked to learn more about the pandas, but that can be covered in other books...
September 24, 2009
Somewhat interesting book about a woman venturing into what was considered a man's occupation. Ruth Harkness wanted to capture an elusive panda in the memory of her husband and bring it back alive to the states. She may have inadvertently caused a shift from the appeal of sending back only skins and parts to institutions to live specimens. But in doing so more pandas were killed or kept alive in inhumane conditions. With all the interest generated in capturing a live panda, China learned quickly that pandas could be a lucrative national treasure. Light read overall with a glimpse in the explorer/collector world of the early 20th century when there were areas of the world still fairly untouched by humans.
January 27, 2021
This book is an interesting one, because it occurs at a vitally important time, in the 1930's, when live pandas first entered the Western world from China. The woman responsible for bringing a live panda to the West for the first time was a widow named Ruth Harkness who, on her first trip to China, managed to take in a baby panda and keep it alive through some sort of frustrated maternal instincts, and, at least according to the author, manage to use these instincts and insights to know more about how to keep pandas alive in captivity than contemporary zookeepers who insisted on feeding pandas with cooked vegetables rather than giving them crunchy foods to chew on. By and large, this book is an interesting one, though it is at the same time a deeply puzzling read in that the author seeks to frame the book as a nonfiction novel by avoiding the sort of sourcing that many readers will expect in order to maintain a fluid narrative of the life of his subject as well as the context of that all too short life in the dramatic period before and during World War II.
This book is about three hundred pages long and it is divided into fourteen chapters. The book begins with a preface and acknowledgements section that are effusive in their praise of others, disarmingly so. After that comes a shocking beginning of the death in Shanghai of Ruth Harknesses' husband Bill, who had incurable tumors and had failed in his quest for the panda in two years of exploration in China (1). After that the author discusses Ruth Harkness' inheritance of this expedition (2) and how she gained the whip hand in her dealings with others who were contemptuous of her (3). After that comes a narrative of her trip to Chengdu (4), a tale of her rivalries as well as her romance with Quentin Young (5), and her successful find of a live baby panda for her o take care of (6). A discussion of the poisonous rivalry between Smith and Harkness as well as Harkness' trouble in getting the baby panda out of China (7) precedes a narrative of the panda she brought as the animal of the century (8). This is then followed by a discussion of Harkness' return to a Shanghai in war in 1937 (9), her attempt to skirt around the conflict by going from Saigon to Chengdu (10), and her struggle to deal with a lonely high-altitude hell for months waiting for the chance to find a panda (11). This is followed by the thrill of her return (12) again to the states and then a brief discussion of her return to China one last time (13), as well as the call to return a panda to the wild that would have been unhappy in captivity (14), and a discussion of the sad wreck of Harkness' remaining years before an early death from the effects of her alcoholism in an epilogue, after which there are notes and an index.
One of the more puzzling aspects of this book is the way that the author manages to include a great deal of speculation on the psychological life of the book's subject. It seems quite likely that this book, although the author claims everything to be true, is really a book that includes a large amount of intuition and guessing and surmising of what is plausible or likely rather than strictly being limited to that which is certainly true. Nonfiction novels as this one tend to struggle with the question of what is certainly true as a genre, and this book shares that general tendency. Fortunately, the book is easy enough to appreciate even if it the author is clearly a partisan of the subject and the book does not quite read in the way one would expect a book of this type to read. One gets the feeling, though, that this is intentionally done, and it is by no means a bad thing even if it is sometimes to be regretted that the author does not clearly separate that which is true from that which was only reported to be true by Harkness or someone else in letters or other text, and that which the author surmises and interprets and guesses to be true. If these problems make this book a bit less than ideal as a historical or nonfictional source, they do not detract from its pleasant narrative style.
This book is about three hundred pages long and it is divided into fourteen chapters. The book begins with a preface and acknowledgements section that are effusive in their praise of others, disarmingly so. After that comes a shocking beginning of the death in Shanghai of Ruth Harknesses' husband Bill, who had incurable tumors and had failed in his quest for the panda in two years of exploration in China (1). After that the author discusses Ruth Harkness' inheritance of this expedition (2) and how she gained the whip hand in her dealings with others who were contemptuous of her (3). After that comes a narrative of her trip to Chengdu (4), a tale of her rivalries as well as her romance with Quentin Young (5), and her successful find of a live baby panda for her o take care of (6). A discussion of the poisonous rivalry between Smith and Harkness as well as Harkness' trouble in getting the baby panda out of China (7) precedes a narrative of the panda she brought as the animal of the century (8). This is then followed by a discussion of Harkness' return to a Shanghai in war in 1937 (9), her attempt to skirt around the conflict by going from Saigon to Chengdu (10), and her struggle to deal with a lonely high-altitude hell for months waiting for the chance to find a panda (11). This is followed by the thrill of her return (12) again to the states and then a brief discussion of her return to China one last time (13), as well as the call to return a panda to the wild that would have been unhappy in captivity (14), and a discussion of the sad wreck of Harkness' remaining years before an early death from the effects of her alcoholism in an epilogue, after which there are notes and an index.
One of the more puzzling aspects of this book is the way that the author manages to include a great deal of speculation on the psychological life of the book's subject. It seems quite likely that this book, although the author claims everything to be true, is really a book that includes a large amount of intuition and guessing and surmising of what is plausible or likely rather than strictly being limited to that which is certainly true. Nonfiction novels as this one tend to struggle with the question of what is certainly true as a genre, and this book shares that general tendency. Fortunately, the book is easy enough to appreciate even if it the author is clearly a partisan of the subject and the book does not quite read in the way one would expect a book of this type to read. One gets the feeling, though, that this is intentionally done, and it is by no means a bad thing even if it is sometimes to be regretted that the author does not clearly separate that which is true from that which was only reported to be true by Harkness or someone else in letters or other text, and that which the author surmises and interprets and guesses to be true. If these problems make this book a bit less than ideal as a historical or nonfictional source, they do not detract from its pleasant narrative style.
November 25, 2018
Ruth Harkness was a dress designer living in New York City when she got word her explorer husband had died before even getting off in earnest on his expedition to bring back a live panda. In a shocking move, especially for the 1930s, she decided to go and finish what he started. With no exploration experience, only some of her husband's contacts, and her own charm and stubbornness, Harkness set out for China. Everyone was sure she'd fail horribly, or die trying. But with the help of an experienced young explorer, Quentin Young, Harkness succeeded in bringing back the first live panda out of panda country and to the US. Panda fever was ignited and Harkness had a long road to travel in figuring out what her next role would be.
I read a picture book about Harkness and the first panda to the US and had to read more about this woman who succeeded where all the men failed and who helped spur on panda conservation. To say that the picture book sugar coats Ruth Harkness' tale is a huge understatement. It gets the facts right, but the full story is not exactly little kid material. She had an affair with her guide on the first trek she went on (even though she knew he was engaged), had no problem trying out opium (even after her guide had to fire several porters for their addictions), developed a serious problem with depression and alcohol on the 2nd trek she went on, and eventually ended up committing suicide. Harkness was noble in her fearlessness in heading into the interior of China and daring to do what everyone kept telling her should be left to the men. I also really appreciated that she saw the Chinese people as people of equal standing (not a common attitude of the day) and treated them with respect. She made sure to give her guide equal credit for the find, though you're less likely to have heard of Quentin Young. I did find it fascinating to learn about what life was like in China at this time from the perspective of internationals. This isn't necessarily a happy story. It does start off that way with grand success, but then Harkness' life after that starts to spiral out of control with depression and alcohol. It takes her two more treks (returning with one more panda) to realize that pandas need to be protected because the area was being decimated in the frenzy her find had created. (She actually released the 3rd panda she caught instead of taking it to the States.) Each time Harkness returns to the States and tries to return to normal life she seems more and more pitiful. Which I get as an expat. Re-entry is not easy, and they didn't have any counseling for that back then. She also didn't seem to really deal with her husband's death ever and it glared at her when she returned to the States. All that to say, the story gets more and more pitiful. Recommended if you want to learn about panda conservation history and unconventional women explorers. Not recommended if you like safe and happy stories.
Notes on content: Occasional mild swear words. No sex scenes, but the fact that sexual activity happened is stated. Some hunting violence mentioned. Deaths in precursor battles of WWII are somewhat gorily described. Opium use described. Alcohol addiction. As per the times, more moderate drinking and smoking are frequently part of social gatherings.
I read a picture book about Harkness and the first panda to the US and had to read more about this woman who succeeded where all the men failed and who helped spur on panda conservation. To say that the picture book sugar coats Ruth Harkness' tale is a huge understatement. It gets the facts right, but the full story is not exactly little kid material. She had an affair with her guide on the first trek she went on (even though she knew he was engaged), had no problem trying out opium (even after her guide had to fire several porters for their addictions), developed a serious problem with depression and alcohol on the 2nd trek she went on, and eventually ended up committing suicide. Harkness was noble in her fearlessness in heading into the interior of China and daring to do what everyone kept telling her should be left to the men. I also really appreciated that she saw the Chinese people as people of equal standing (not a common attitude of the day) and treated them with respect. She made sure to give her guide equal credit for the find, though you're less likely to have heard of Quentin Young. I did find it fascinating to learn about what life was like in China at this time from the perspective of internationals. This isn't necessarily a happy story. It does start off that way with grand success, but then Harkness' life after that starts to spiral out of control with depression and alcohol. It takes her two more treks (returning with one more panda) to realize that pandas need to be protected because the area was being decimated in the frenzy her find had created. (She actually released the 3rd panda she caught instead of taking it to the States.) Each time Harkness returns to the States and tries to return to normal life she seems more and more pitiful. Which I get as an expat. Re-entry is not easy, and they didn't have any counseling for that back then. She also didn't seem to really deal with her husband's death ever and it glared at her when she returned to the States. All that to say, the story gets more and more pitiful. Recommended if you want to learn about panda conservation history and unconventional women explorers. Not recommended if you like safe and happy stories.
Notes on content: Occasional mild swear words. No sex scenes, but the fact that sexual activity happened is stated. Some hunting violence mentioned. Deaths in precursor battles of WWII are somewhat gorily described. Opium use described. Alcohol addiction. As per the times, more moderate drinking and smoking are frequently part of social gatherings.
October 26, 2025
It’s not just about cute pandas
Having just finished The Beast in the Clouds: The Roosevelt Brothers’s Deadly Quest to Find the Mythical Giant Panda by Nathalia Holt, I was interested in the next stage of the West’s infatuation with the panda.
As with The Beast in the Clouds, I approached this book with curiosity and caution. I wanted to know the story of how pandas came to be held in captivity outside China, but I knew I wouldn’t like much of the story itself.
The media of the day played up the cuteness of the whole affair, and as best I can tell, the pandas were treated well… if you leave aside the fact that baby pandas were being taken from their mothers and their natural habitat. Which I can’t just leave aside. It’s sad.
Ahead of her time, I did enjoy learning about Ruth Harkness forging ahead with the mission after her husband’s death, and how she took on a leadership role in a man’s world. And it was a well written book.
The audiobook is broken down into just four chapters of 70–80 minutes long, and labelled simply Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc., not very helpful if you want to go back and refer to something.
A quick look at the Kindle version preview shows 14 chapters — each with an informative title — plus an epilogue. Why this breakdown is not provided for audiobook listeners baffles me. Plus the Kindle version includes a map (critical if you want to follow along!) and photographs. It would be so simple to drop the key elements into a PDF accompaniment to the audiobook!
As the audiobook doesn’t include a useful table of contents, I’ve created one below in a listening guide.
Death in Shanghai (1) – sets the stage with Ruth Harkness facing sudden loss in a foreign land
Inheriting an Expedition (2) – inheriting her late husband’s expedition, navigate a man’s world
Gaining the Whip Hand (3) – the challenges of assembling a team for the long trek inland
West to Chengdu (4) – the journey deepens as the expedition enters Sichuan’s rugged interior
Rivalry and Romance (5) – competition and connection intertwine among fellow explorers
Gifts from the Spirits (6) – cultural encounters and omens guide the team’s progress
The Battle Royal (7) – tensions rise within the camp and with local forces
Animal of the Century (8) – the first panda encounter becomes legend
Bombs from the Heavens (9) – war erupts as their path home grows perilous
Saigon to Chengdu (10) – retracing steps through chaos and uncertainty
High-Altitude Hell (11) – fatigue and thin air test everyone’s limits
One Grand Thrill (12) – triumph and reflection near the journey’s end
I Must Be Going (13) – departure, fame, and the costs of success
The Back of Beyond (14) – closing in the wilderness where it all began
Song of the Soul (Epilogue) – what was gained and lost in bringing the panda to the West
Complete audiobook data (for the specific edition in my Audible library):
The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China’s Most Exotic Animal
Written by: Vicki Constantine Croke
Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
RELEASE DATE 2005-07-01
FORMAT Abridged Audiobook
LENGTH 4 hrs and 57 mins
PUBLISHER Random House Audio
©2005 Vicki Constantine Croke (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.
Having just finished The Beast in the Clouds: The Roosevelt Brothers’s Deadly Quest to Find the Mythical Giant Panda by Nathalia Holt, I was interested in the next stage of the West’s infatuation with the panda.
As with The Beast in the Clouds, I approached this book with curiosity and caution. I wanted to know the story of how pandas came to be held in captivity outside China, but I knew I wouldn’t like much of the story itself.
The media of the day played up the cuteness of the whole affair, and as best I can tell, the pandas were treated well… if you leave aside the fact that baby pandas were being taken from their mothers and their natural habitat. Which I can’t just leave aside. It’s sad.
Ahead of her time, I did enjoy learning about Ruth Harkness forging ahead with the mission after her husband’s death, and how she took on a leadership role in a man’s world. And it was a well written book.
The audiobook is broken down into just four chapters of 70–80 minutes long, and labelled simply Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc., not very helpful if you want to go back and refer to something.
A quick look at the Kindle version preview shows 14 chapters — each with an informative title — plus an epilogue. Why this breakdown is not provided for audiobook listeners baffles me. Plus the Kindle version includes a map (critical if you want to follow along!) and photographs. It would be so simple to drop the key elements into a PDF accompaniment to the audiobook!
As the audiobook doesn’t include a useful table of contents, I’ve created one below in a listening guide.
Death in Shanghai (1) – sets the stage with Ruth Harkness facing sudden loss in a foreign land
Inheriting an Expedition (2) – inheriting her late husband’s expedition, navigate a man’s world
Gaining the Whip Hand (3) – the challenges of assembling a team for the long trek inland
West to Chengdu (4) – the journey deepens as the expedition enters Sichuan’s rugged interior
Rivalry and Romance (5) – competition and connection intertwine among fellow explorers
Gifts from the Spirits (6) – cultural encounters and omens guide the team’s progress
The Battle Royal (7) – tensions rise within the camp and with local forces
Animal of the Century (8) – the first panda encounter becomes legend
Bombs from the Heavens (9) – war erupts as their path home grows perilous
Saigon to Chengdu (10) – retracing steps through chaos and uncertainty
High-Altitude Hell (11) – fatigue and thin air test everyone’s limits
One Grand Thrill (12) – triumph and reflection near the journey’s end
I Must Be Going (13) – departure, fame, and the costs of success
The Back of Beyond (14) – closing in the wilderness where it all began
Song of the Soul (Epilogue) – what was gained and lost in bringing the panda to the West
Complete audiobook data (for the specific edition in my Audible library):
The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China’s Most Exotic Animal
Written by: Vicki Constantine Croke
Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
RELEASE DATE 2005-07-01
FORMAT Abridged Audiobook
LENGTH 4 hrs and 57 mins
PUBLISHER Random House Audio
©2005 Vicki Constantine Croke (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.
March 10, 2022
This book caused me to have several different reactions....The story begins with a wealthy socialite Ruth Harkness whose husband headed overseas to china to track and capture a panda. Her husband dies by natural causes and Ruth is devastated but then she decides for his legacy she will continue the hunt for a panda. She sets out on her journey and hires Quentin Young as her guide....meanwhile others are trying to get to the pandas as well so a competition begins... Quentin and Ruth work well together and ultimately they capture a baby panda. Ruth treats it like a baby and the small beat flourishes. She returns with it to the states and selects the Brookfield zoo to be its' home. But she wants desperately to find a mate for the bear and returns to China. The book involves an affair with Young, who is married. Also the issues of others capturing pandas that die in the process...While an adventurer she was also a lonely woman and I had a difficult time with her drinking and even the searching for another panda . The panda she rescued with such care dies in the zoo because of the diet they fed it...I found the panda , an amazing animal, preyed upon and her capture of one fuels the greed of others.. In the end her ashes were placed up where the pandas live. The World Wildlife Federation is now involved in the saving the pandas and I hope to visit their park one day.
June 21, 2025
Widowed, short on funds, and with no experience “in the field,” American fashion designer Ruth Harkness arrived in China in 1936 an unlikely candidate to catch a panda. In a lively narrative, author Vicki Constantine Croke relates how Harkness (aided by a team of Chinese guides and porters) managed to follow through on her late husband’s plans and bring a live panda back to the United States, where “Su-Lin” soon took up residence at Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo. Drawing on Harkness’s voluminous letters and writings about her trip, Croke paints a vivid portrait of rural China in the mid-1930s. Even more, she conveys the physical and emotional challenges that Harkness faced along the way. Catching Su-Lin—a small cub—feels almost anti-climactic, though getting permission to bring him out of China turned out to be a second adventure of its own.
The ethics of Harkness’s expedition are unquestionably dubious by 21st-century standards, but she was in fact progressive for her time—uncomfortable with the killing of animals for sport and ultimately unwilling to proceed with more panda captures. After her China trips, Harkness’s life entered a downhill spiral, and she died of alcoholism before the age of 50. The Lady and the Panda is an engaging biography of a little-known adventurer who burned brightly but briefly prior to World War II.
The ethics of Harkness’s expedition are unquestionably dubious by 21st-century standards, but she was in fact progressive for her time—uncomfortable with the killing of animals for sport and ultimately unwilling to proceed with more panda captures. After her China trips, Harkness’s life entered a downhill spiral, and she died of alcoholism before the age of 50. The Lady and the Panda is an engaging biography of a little-known adventurer who burned brightly but briefly prior to World War II.
August 1, 2017
True story of a novice explored and game hunter, Ruth Harkness, who brings back the first live panda to the western world in 1936. Her idea of capturing a baby panda proved to the correct call, as mature pandas all died. I admired her pluck and courage, she was however supported by her team and Quentin Young and others who made her first foray into the wilds of Chine possible. Other trips she made and explorations in other countries, paled in comparison.
While I first found myself championing her (unexperience woman versus seasoned, but awful, male big game hunters), her later trips filled me with dismay. Success in capturing a panda seemed wrong, forcing the poor creature to live elsewhere, depriving it of its native habitat all in the name of money and fame. However, I am looking at this from present day sensibilities.
For me the only reason to have animals in captivity is to breed them to save them from extinction (which we humans have brought about), a la Gerald Durrell. Hard to read about the callous, self-serving hunters who thought nothing of taking an animal's life.
While I first found myself championing her (unexperience woman versus seasoned, but awful, male big game hunters), her later trips filled me with dismay. Success in capturing a panda seemed wrong, forcing the poor creature to live elsewhere, depriving it of its native habitat all in the name of money and fame. However, I am looking at this from present day sensibilities.
For me the only reason to have animals in captivity is to breed them to save them from extinction (which we humans have brought about), a la Gerald Durrell. Hard to read about the callous, self-serving hunters who thought nothing of taking an animal's life.
December 5, 2020
I had never heard about Ruth Harkness until I picked up this book.
For those that don’t know Ruth was a socialite who traveled to China and was able to capture not one but two baby panda’s and bring them back to the states for Zoo’s.
The book explains why she took on this journey, how she got the panda (Su Lin), how she cared for it during that time and her second trip back to China for another panda as well as her third and final trip to China.
Sadly back then it was a choice of either to shoot and stuff the panda’s or capture and bring them to Zoos. The countless amounts of animals that died was massive.
On question the book does not tell you is how long the second panda Mei-Mei lived.
Ruth had one more adventure in Peru but her heart always seemed to be in China. Sadly a tragic ending for Ruth later on. But I loved that the writer and others traveled to China to follow her journeys via photographs she took and bury her ashes in the placed she loved the most.
https://theworldisabookandiamitsreade...
For those that don’t know Ruth was a socialite who traveled to China and was able to capture not one but two baby panda’s and bring them back to the states for Zoo’s.
The book explains why she took on this journey, how she got the panda (Su Lin), how she cared for it during that time and her second trip back to China for another panda as well as her third and final trip to China.
Sadly back then it was a choice of either to shoot and stuff the panda’s or capture and bring them to Zoos. The countless amounts of animals that died was massive.
On question the book does not tell you is how long the second panda Mei-Mei lived.
Ruth had one more adventure in Peru but her heart always seemed to be in China. Sadly a tragic ending for Ruth later on. But I loved that the writer and others traveled to China to follow her journeys via photographs she took and bury her ashes in the placed she loved the most.
https://theworldisabookandiamitsreade...
July 16, 2022
This was an interesting tale of a little-known American woman who broke new ground in exploring the remote China-Tibet border area for giant panda conservation. Ruth Harkness, a dress designer at a young age in NYC had fallen in love with and married Bill Harkness,a wealthy adventurer. After Bill fell ill and died in China searching for pandas less than a year after their wedding, Ruth decides to continue his quest to bring a live panda to the US. She has great concern for treating the animals humanly(unlike some of her competitors)and feels a spiritual connection to the mountains and people of China,where the love of her life perished without her. Also,Japan was invading China,Shanghai was rockin' and other panda catchers sometimes were devious and lied----and also were resentful of "some woman amateur" becoming famous in 1936-7 for bringing an adorable baby panda to America! Cue the media circus! Sadly,Ruth Harkness did not live a long and healthy life but this book tries to do justice to her hardships in capturing the elusive panda. Bamboo, anyone? Or opium?
February 14, 2017
Got about 125 pages into the book before it was put away for keeps. I was enjoying the book okay, just not eager to pick it up again when I put it down. The style of writing is dramatic and engaging, and apparently the author is doing a LOT of quoting from sources. She definitely seems to be a big fan of Ruth Harkness, who does seem to be an incredible woman. But coming from a history research background, I wonder about the objective truth of the story she's telling. Authors must always decide what to include and what to leave out, and she's such a Harkness fangirl that I wonder what's being left out. However, Ruth Harkness is definitely a badass, heading off into China alone except for almost-strangers. I had hoped to get to at least something about her interacting with a panda before we got more than 1/3 through the book, but perhaps all that backstory was necessary in order to understand future events.
September 27, 2017
The story of the first expedition was interesting, except after all that buildup, it was such a letdown how "easy" Harkness & co. got their first panda. It's also strange to say that they shot over 700 photographs but none came out because a piece of film got stuck in the camera. I'm really confused about this. Didn't they notice that everytime they opened the camera to load film?
I'll have to agree with some things pointed out by other reviewers. This book was more about the lady than the panda. I'm also curious as to what happened to Mei Mei. It is also hypocritical for Harkness to go on her second expedition, but not actually search for pandas.
This book read better compared to another nonfiction book I just finished. There was that balance in setting the scene to give readers an idea what was happening at the time, Harkness' physical actions, and her state of mind through the letters she sent.
I'll have to agree with some things pointed out by other reviewers. This book was more about the lady than the panda. I'm also curious as to what happened to Mei Mei. It is also hypocritical for Harkness to go on her second expedition, but not actually search for pandas.
This book read better compared to another nonfiction book I just finished. There was that balance in setting the scene to give readers an idea what was happening at the time, Harkness' physical actions, and her state of mind through the letters she sent.
February 10, 2018
Obviously I needed to read this book. After watching the movie some time ago and learning it was made after this book, I finally got to read it and it did not disappoint. It breaks my heart how many people were only after pandas for their skins, and in so doing, it makes me all the more grateful for this woman Ruth Harkness and her desire to catch them and keep them safe and healthy. It is because of her that I get to see them in person. And also because of her that I will one day hold a baby in China, right there in the very mountains that she journeyed so long ago for the first. What a fascinating read, to learn also about all kinds of things that happened in China back in the 1930s. I am thankful the world is a different place now.
June 21, 2021
This was a very good book. Ruth Harkness's story is certainly captivating, and I definitely got a sense that she fulfilled part of her destiny in bringing the first 2 live pandas to the United States (at separate times). It puts a new light on how people are credited with certain achievements in history... since Ruth was in charge and funded the expedition, she got the credit. She was not involved in the capture, but the nurturing and bringing the panda to the U.S.
Her story also had a few tragic elements that made me wish for different outcomes. I think that might be why I didn't love this as much as Elephant Company, by the same author.
I really loved the Su-Jen twist (the 3rd panda that never came to the U.S.).
Her story also had a few tragic elements that made me wish for different outcomes. I think that might be why I didn't love this as much as Elephant Company, by the same author.
I really loved the Su-Jen twist (the 3rd panda that never came to the U.S.).
February 16, 2023
Curious, Croke used the same title for her book about Ruth Harkness as Harkness did for her memoir about bringing back the first live panda to the US. Ruth Harkness was married to Bill Harkness, an adventurer and procurer of animals for museums and zoos. Bill died while trying to bring back a live panda. Ruth who was a socialite and dress designer had a spark of the adventure within her also. She determined to finish what Bill was not able to do. And she did! Then she went back to China/Tibet border to procure more live pandas. Because of a growing feeling that the pandas were being exploited, she actually released one she was going to bring back and worked to save pandas and their habitat after that.
February 5, 2025
As dark as the world is right now, I'm glad that at least we as a country no longer find it acceptable to rip a baby animal away from its mother to put it in a zoo. I just felt so bad for those damn pandas. I don't know that I would have gotten through this if it wasn't an audiobook I could only half-ass listen to. I might have just raged out and thrown the book across the room. The book itself is well-paced and Ruth Harkness was interesting enough a character. Rating this 3 stars because it's really not fair to the book that I didn't anticipate how I would feel reading this (should have seen it coming, honestly, where were my critical thinking skills going into this one).
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February 23, 2024
3.5, rounded down.
Interesting story about a socialite (nominally a "dress designer") who goes to China and brings back the first living giant panda. Extra interest for me since it ended up in Brookfield Zoo near my home. Interesting information about life in China in the 1930s and the Japanese invasion of China.
The author did an admirable job of painting both sides of this story. The socialite (Ruth Harkness) did bring worldwide attention to the giant panda but on the other hand, there was a panda frenzy resulting in the death of many pandas, either because they were being killed for pelts or because their captors had no idea of how to care for these delicate but fierce creatures.
Interesting story about a socialite (nominally a "dress designer") who goes to China and brings back the first living giant panda. Extra interest for me since it ended up in Brookfield Zoo near my home. Interesting information about life in China in the 1930s and the Japanese invasion of China.
The author did an admirable job of painting both sides of this story. The socialite (Ruth Harkness) did bring worldwide attention to the giant panda but on the other hand, there was a panda frenzy resulting in the death of many pandas, either because they were being killed for pelts or because their captors had no idea of how to care for these delicate but fierce creatures.
April 10, 2024
I’m endlessly fascinated by the stories of women who take on adventures much ahead of their time, and Ruth Harkness was one of those adventurous women. Imagine becoming a young widow and the first big decision you make after your husbands death is to leave behind everything you’ve ever known to visit a foreign country and find an elusive animal in the snow covered mountains. That’s exactly what Ruth did.
Interspersed into the author’s narration are quotes directly from letters that Ruth wrote throughout her life, which make the re-telling extremely personal. Her fascination and awe of the Chinese landscapes and people were beautiful to read. I also really enjoyed learning more about Chinese history and culture in the early to mid 1900s.
Of course, the star of the book for me was the pandas. I fell absolutely in love with each one and especially applaud Ruth’s final choice as to her career with the bears.
All in all, a lovely non-fiction book with lots of adventure, education, and cuteness. 🐼
Interspersed into the author’s narration are quotes directly from letters that Ruth wrote throughout her life, which make the re-telling extremely personal. Her fascination and awe of the Chinese landscapes and people were beautiful to read. I also really enjoyed learning more about Chinese history and culture in the early to mid 1900s.
Of course, the star of the book for me was the pandas. I fell absolutely in love with each one and especially applaud Ruth’s final choice as to her career with the bears.
All in all, a lovely non-fiction book with lots of adventure, education, and cuteness. 🐼
March 6, 2018
I've had this one on my shelf for a while, and I finally got around to reading it. Like pretty much everyone else I think giant pandas are the cutest. I love visiting the ones at the San Diego Zoo. This book chronicles the life of the woman who first brought pandas to the US, and outside of China for that matter. It's a little dry but the pursuit is interesting, especially for the 1930's. China was changing so much at the time and the search for a panda makes it sound like the wild west. If you're interested, it's a good read.
May 31, 2023
This the story of Ruth Harkness, who went on an almost impossible journey to tibet in 1936 to capture the “Most mysterious animal of the day”, the panda bear. Basically, Ruth was a dress designer around the 1930s, who was married to a rich explorer named Bill Harkness. Bill was determined to be the first westerner to capture a giant panda, But while at his mission, he dies tragically, and alone in China, and Ruth feels like it is her fate to adopt Bill’s dream mission. This book is a beuatiful milestone in the history of feminism, and pandas.
P.S. there were no spoilers in this review
P.S. there were no spoilers in this review
September 13, 2023
Published 2005, but I read it in 2023. Difficult to understand how Ruth Harkness extensively traveled internationally, stayed in hotels & drank heavily with no money, as the book claims. I suppose all details can't be included in one book, but for me, that's a missing piece. Also difficult to read about exploitation of this charismatic animal and how the world outside China came to know about this animal. In that way, this nonfiction book has done its job well.
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