Posted on 11/11/2004 12:38:11 PM PST by EggsAckley
'The Rape of Nanking' author is found dead
Iris Chang, the bestselling Bay Area author whose book on Japanese atrocities in China during World War II catapulted her to fame and prominence, was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was 36.
Chang drove down a road south of Los Gatos and shot herself in her car, authorities said.
Santa Clara County sheriff's Deputy Terrance Helm said a motorist driving Tuesday morning on Highway 17 south of the Cats restaurant in an unincorporated area near Los Gatos noticed a car a short distance down a private water district road. He pulled over to check on the vehicle and called 911.
Investigators found a frontier-type six-gun and a note in the car, according to sources with knowledge of the case.
The official cause of death was pending.
Chang suffered a breakdown and was hospitalized during a recent trip researching her fourth book about U.S. soldiers who fought the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II, her former editor and agent Susan Rabiner told the Associated Press.
Chang continued to suffer from depression after she was released from the hospital. In a note to her family, she asked to be remembered as the person she was before she became ill -- ``engaged with life, committed to her causes, her writing and her family,'' Rabiner said.
Chang's apparent suicide came as a great shock to her friends and colleagues.
``I can't believe it. She was such a shining star,'' said Ignatius Ding, a close friend since they met at a history conference in 1994.
excerpted LINK
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Thanks for the info.
Fascinating stuff!
Quick case closed, helps their records.
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