Iris Chang, a late 20th-century Chinese American historian who studied the experiences of Chinese Americans throughout history, committed suicide in November 2004. A few years later , her once close friend, Paula Kamen, decided to research the possible causes of Iris' seemingly sudden death and published a small biography of her. The biography, Finding Iris Chang: Friendship, Ambition, and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind, was an effort to quell misconceptions about Iris's apparent sudden death and describe her personal life using accounts from various people with whom Chang interacted. The book, however, is a testament to the idea that while a biographical account may in some way describe the experiences of a certain social group to which the subject belonged, biography is too individualized that other types of resources would be more suited to the search for history. of that group. To begin with, it is interesting to note that the author, Kamen, wrote the biography in a style very similar to first-person mystery novels. The premise for writing the book was that Iris Chang was a well-known historian and author, but details of her personal life, which could potentially provide clues to the reasons behind her suicide, were largely unknown. In essence, Kamen saw the biography as a means to "investigate beyond the public contours of this public figure, to find color, depth, and perhaps even shade [in Iris's life]. "Now, throughout American history, American society mandated that Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans take a backseat to white Americans when it comes to rights and privileges. Starting in 1790 with the Nationality Act, which effectively denied early Chinese immigrants and their children the rights of... .middle of paper... ....ing Iris Chang has been too heavy-handed in investigating Chang's mental illness and fails to make a meaningful connection between Iris Chang's life and the contemporary Chinese-American experience. Furthermore, the objective nature of the biography allowed Kamen to inject too much of his personal perspectives surrounding the issues at hand. In an ironic twist, Iris Chang's The Chinese in America trumps Finding Iris Chang when it comes to understanding Chinese-American history. Works CitedChang, Iris. The Chinese in America: A Narrative History. New York: Viking, 2003. Print.Chun, Edna. “Asian Americans Lead the Invisible Minority.” INSIGHT Into Diversity.Potomac Publishing Inc., November 3, 2013. Web. December 3, 2013.Kamen, Paula. Finding Iris Chang: Friendship, Ambition, and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind. [Cambridge, Massachusetts]: Da Capo, 2007. Print.