Customer Reviews

Along the Roaring River: My Wild Ride from Mao to the Met

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A great book, and if you've ever heard Hao Jiang Tian sing in an opera house, the human dimension of his story of survival and eventual triumph becomes even truer and more exciting. This memoir is a beautiful introduction to a superb artist, and a fine singer. Tian's determination and bravery in the pursuit of his art despite enormous challenges is a lesson for every artist. Engagingly written, Along the Roaring River details Tian's awakening before and after the Cultural Revolution, the noble tragedy of his parents, and his burgeoning political awareness even in Mao's China. Not least of his story is Tian's essential relationship with Placido Domingo, the one musician who personally encouraged and helped the great Chinese bass in every way, revealing much of what the classical music world already knows about the humanitarianism of Domingo, as well as the subtle ways in which the great tenor has advanced the real meaning of operatic art in the world's consciousness. The interior story of Tian's relationship with his wife Martha is a pillar of the book's strength, and we find in their love story the backbone of the tremendous struggle familiar to every artist of every stripe. As a musician, I'm indebted to Tian for his courage, and for his insights into the art of opera performance, the interior burden it asks of singers, and how it can be successfully achieved. Best of all, Along the Roaring River offers a uniquely personal testament of the humility essential to artistic triumph. Absolutely recommended to everyone seeking a true story of overcoming huge odds to not only survive as a man, but conquer and grow as a musician and an artist. May Hao Jiang Tian have a thousand years of singing his heart, his life! I'm moved by his book. You will be too.

This book is a real page turner. I left family and friends in a restaurant last night so I could come home and finish it. It is so lucidly written, the story as riveting as an historical novel. Tian is a complex but guileless fellow with a giant talent driving him to expression. The supporting cast, companions on the path of his destiny, are similarly well drawn. Tian's story brings home the truth of how much conditioning we all have, politically and cognitively. And it affirms for me that the human spirit, human relationships, divine providence, and the unseen world are much more active than ourconscious thoughts and feelings in determining the outcome of events and personal transformation.

I believe this is the best book I have ever read! I could not get enough of Tian...

This book gives China a human face. It is a beautiful story of what it was like to be in China during the Communist reign of Mao, and surviving it. It was deep, powerful, sexy, riveting, exciting and passionate.. You will not be able to put it down. I was captured by Tian's heart song. A passion and willingness to talk about China in a daring and beautiful way.

Just as Quincy Jones helped bridge many African Americans to a voice in America. Tian unknowingly has given the Chinese a voice that will touch even the most unreachable hearts and leave you with a pure desire to find your own heart song and destiny.

I really enjoyed this book. It is not really about opera - more about the courage and triumph of a man's life. Very well written and very enjoyable. I've been giving it as gifts to many of my friends and everyone seems to be loving it. It is very touching and very real.

Hao Jiang Tian's journey is masterfully told in his own voice by Lois Morris. She has captured his electric personality that brought him to America from a time and place steeped in iconic imagery - Mao's oxymoronic cultural revolution that sent intellectuals and artists, such as Tian, to work in fields and factories. It is a story full of losses, near misses and miracles. That Tian has arrived in America to sing Major rolls at the Metropolitan Opera but still holds dear his attachments to his home country is profound and moving. His talent in singing is enormous and is equal only to his talent for sharing his remarkable journey. A must read by a gifted story teller and his equally gifted co-writer Lois Morris.

Knowing little about either what it is like to grow up in China or Opera, this book was riveting for me. Tian goes in depth about both of these topics and i truly feel as if i know him and his family now! Tian's journey reminds us that no matter where in the world people come from and how foreign they may seem, we are ultimately the same and seeking the same things in life. I am motivated to learn more about opera and have plans to go to my first one at the Central City Opera in Colorado he so passionately describes! You don't have to be versed in Opera to be inspired by this book!

Americans seldom get an inside look into the Chinese Cultural
Revolution. Here is one of the best as seen through the eyes of a sensitive and caring artist.The book is also a frank honest appraisal of what it takes for a person to break out of China to seek a new life in the West. It shows the enormous difficulty that the average Chinese immigrant faces in mastering a professional level of English. It is also a tender personal story of love andpersonal achievement flowering under extremely difficult conditions. Last but not least I learned how one becomes an opera singer.

Even if you are not an opera buff, this book is fascinating as it takes you through the history of China and its cultural revolution.

I bought this primarily for another granddaughter who is studying opera in college. She has been so busy with studies and choir trips that I decided to read it. Tian really did have a wild ride on the roaring river to reach his goal. I saw him on a PBS fund raiser and was curious about a Chinese opera star. I enjoyed the book very much.