Last week Yale law professor and author Amy Chua interviewed on PBS about her new book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” She was nice but defensive. With the firestorm set off by the Wall Street Journal article “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” she is set on addressing various misconceptions about the book and the article from the WSJ.

Here’s five things to know about Amy Chua
1. Book is a memoir, not a how to guide. She believes prosperity can’t last more than 3 generations.
2. Amy Chua not good at writing humor, but this is subjective.
3. Her sister has down syndrome, but Tiger Mothering has given her a productibe life
4. She is surprised by the tone of the back lash from the Wall Street Journal article. She’s received death threats and been called abusive.
5. She’s making bank with a $500k book advance and the book is currently the #1 Nonfiction Bestseller on amazon.

Chua admitted that casting the book as a clash of cultures may have roused passions. “I’m talking about Chinese values versus Western values, and that’s such a hot button issue right now,” Chua said. But she defended her book, saying it was an expression of core American values as much as anything else. “The current model of relatively permissive and coddling parenting,” Chua said, “I think it’s pretty recent.” Of American parents, she added: “A couple generations ago, they actually parented very similar to the way I did.”

Amy Chua interview on PBS about her book, which is as much about her mistakes as a mother as it is her triumphs.

U.S. and China relations with first half discussion about Amy Chua. Jeff Yang participates in the discussion. See his article Mother, Superior?