My book “The Yin and Yang of the Dragon and the Eagle: Tale of Two Cultures and Two Countries” was recently published. This article includes several reviews of that book:
- Lillian Sing: A retired judge from the state of California, who co-founded “Rape of Nanking Redress Coalition” and a dedicated Equality and Human Rights Activist. She has received numerous judicial and legal awards, including “Trial Judge of the Year Award by the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association” and “Outstanding Jurist Award” by the San Francisco Women Lawyers Alliance.” She resides in San Francisco.
- James Liu: A high technology Distinguished Member of Technical Staff (DMTS) recently retired from AT&T, with extensive experience in transforming market needs into system requirements and system architecture, followed by proven design and implementation skills to construct the product offer, and knowledge transfer to product services organizations. He now resides in Holmdel, NJ.
- Julie Tang: A retired San Francisco Supervisor Court Judge, covering a wide range of cases, including Civil, Criminal, Family, Juvenile Delinquency, and Dependency cases, who is also a long-time activist who co-founded “Rape of Nanking Redress Coalition” and “Pivot To Peace.” She resides in San Francisco.
- Ying-Ying Chang: A biochemist who taught and conducted research at the University of Illinois, and authored the book The Woman Who Could Not Forget. She and her late husband Shau-Jin Chang co-founded the Iris Chang Memorial Fund to honor their beloved daughter Iris Chang who wrote the international best seller The Rape of Nanking. She now resides in San Jose, CA.
Reviewer: Lillian Sing
Don M. Tow’s “Tale of Two Cultures and Two Countries” is a compelling and deeply human
work—one that I found impossible to put down. What makes it extraordinary is Tow’s ability to
filter seven centuries of world history through the intimate lens of his own family’s journey.
Rather than offering a detached chronology, he weaves global events—wars, diplomatic shifts,
cultural tensions—into the lived experiences of his parents, his own upbringing, and the
communities that shaped him. This personal grounding transforms historical fact into narrative
truth, making the past feel immediate, urgent, and profoundly relatable.
As someone who knows the author, I connect deeply with his family stories and cultural
reflections he shares. Yet even readers unfamiliar with his world will find history not only
accessible but gripping. Tow’s storytelling makes complex events understandable without ever
oversimplifying them.
Dr. Tow provides a clear and insightful account of the worldwide Diaoyu Islands movement and
the student activism that galvanized a generation. He also confronts the horrific “comfort
women” system—the forced sexual enslavement of hundreds of thousands of women and girls
by the Imperial Japanese military—with accuracy, dignity, and moral clarity.
As a retired judge in California, I particularly appreciated Tow’s careful distinction between
governmentlevel war reparations and victim-centered damage compensation. This legal nuance is
essential to any meaningful pursuit of justice. Tow also honors individuals such as Tamaki
Matsuoka, often called the “Conscience of Japan”, and Tong Zeng, known as “The One who
speaks for the Voiceless.” Both of whom have dedicated their lives to giving voice to survivors
and preserving historical truth.
Tow’s book is especially timely as 2026 marks the 95th anniversary of the start of the Second
SinoJapanese War (1931–1945), a devastating conflict that claimed an estimated 25–30 million
Chinese civilian lives and left a legacy of widespread sexual violence and unimaginable
suffering. Tow recounts these atrocities with precision and compassion, grounding them not only
in historical record but also in memories passed down through his own family. That personal link
turns statistics into human pain—and human pain into a call to remember.
Tale of Two Cultures and Two Countries is a powerful appeal for peace. By illuminating war’s
human cost through the story of one family, Tow reminds us that understanding the past is the
only path to preventing future atrocities. This book should be read by every student and belongs
in every library. I highly recommend this book.
Reviewer James Liu
To be included.
Reviewer Julie Tang
“The Tale of Two Cultures and Two Countries“ is an easy read and a must-read for anyone curious about their next-door immigrant. But the author, Don Tow, is not exactly a typical immigrant. He has much stronger American roots than most immigrants. His paternal grandfather had lived in the US, and his maternal grandfather was born in the US before Don was born. Years later, Don returned to the US as an immigrant child
to immerse himself in the land of the U.S.
I couldn’t put the book down once I started. Every page has a story that, as a fellow Chinese immigrant from Hong Kong, I could identify with and relate to from my own experience, like a mirror held up to my own life.
This book is about history. And not just Don’s own family history, but also the geopolitical framework of wars and social upheavals that envelop Don’s immigrant story, helping to make sense of how WWII in Asia affected people’s lives. Don’s life exemplifies much of what Chinese immigrants who had gone through the traumas of wars in the last half-century faced in the US. They escaped the indescribable cruelty visited upon China during the Japanese invasion of China, and survived the dangers of civil war and domestic turmoil that followed. They found respite in the US. And overcome the language and cultural adjustments. As Don matured and integrated into the mainstream US, we learned that the process by which immigrants came to understand themselves and the country they adopted had transformed them into the dragon and the eagle, providing the real respite for the immigrant soul. Often the debate falls on whether an immigrant should be totally “American” or keep true to their own ethnic heritage and culture. This book provided an answer. You can be both. But it’s a lot of work to get there.
Chapter 19 is a high point in this book. I was in college at the time of the Diaoyu Island incident. Don did an excellent job of explaining the basis of the controversy, relying on history, geography, and the law.
The Daioyu Island incident ignited a flame of moral outrage among the Chinese people worldwide. The incident raises an existential question: Japan lost the war in WWII. But why is it allowed to continue to take land from its victims? To this date, the Daioyu Island remains an unresolved post-WWII issue.
Don’s search for his inner self includes a path to the Taiji doctrine and exercises through which he found the yin-yang formula to flow with the energy of the dragon and the eagle. The energy became wholly interdependent and integrated. I hope more people will be inspired to take up this gentle exercise after reading Don’s lectures on Taiji. You may find your inner dragon and eagle also.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about WWII history in Asia and how one immigrant family navigated the travails of war and upheaval, finding a home in the US. This is a story of all immigrants, from the Mayflower to the modern day. It is an inspiration for more immigrants to write about their own stories and for other immigrants to be welcomed here in the US.
Reviewer Ying-Ying Chang
Author Don M. Tow, as well as I, belong to the same generation; therefore, his memoir deeply resonates with my own memories and experiences.
Born in the 1940s, we shared many of the same historical experiences, including the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s and the civil war between the Nationalists and Communists in the 1940s. In the book, Don describes how the Tow family was forced to move repeatedly as refugees because of war — from Guangdong Province to Hong Kong, back and forth several times, and eventually immigrating to the United States. Many of these experiences felt like déjà vu to me.
Don’s father was educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a civil engineer. However, because of war and political turmoil, he was never fully able to devote his talents to helping build the country he loved. Like countless others of that era, much of his potential was consumed by the conflicts of war.
At the age of 13, Don immigrated to the United States with his parents and settled in the small California town of Placerville, which at the time had a population of only about 3,000. His parents abandoned their roots in Hong Kong and took enormous risks in search of a better future for their children. Their sacrifices ultimately paid off: all five surviving children received excellent educations, earning college degrees and some Ph.D. Their story is a remarkable example of perseverance, courage, and the pursuit of the American dream.
In his memoir, Don vividly recounts his years as both an undergraduate and graduate student at University of California, Berkeley during the turbulent 1960s. He witnessed and participated in some of the most significant student movements of the twentieth century, including the Free Speech Movement and the Anti–Vietnam War Movement.
Among these, the most important to him was the worldwide Diaoyu Islands student movement, in which he was personally involved. The Diaoyu Islands had historically been considered part of China’s territory since the Ming Dynasty. However, after World War II, the United States transferred administrative control of the islands to Japan despite the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations, which stated that territories occupied by Japan should be returned to China. This decision sparked strong protests among Chinese communities worldwide, who viewed it as a grave injustice. The student movement profoundly influenced both China and Taiwan and continues to affect the geopolitics of China–U.S. relations today.
Originally trained as a physicist, Don first pursued an academic career before moving into industry. Yet his interests extended far beyond science. He became an advocate of Tai Chi and a soccer coach, demonstrating a lifelong commitment to both physical and intellectual pursuits.
After retirement, Don devoted much of his energy to social justice causes, particularly seeking justice for survivors of the Sino–Japanese War of the 1930s and 1940s. He tirelessly educated the public about Japanese aggression in China from 1931 to 1945 by leading school teachers and researchers on educational trips to China. He also maintained a website discussing contemporary world political affairs.
Spanning two countries and two cultures, Don’s life has been extraordinarily rich, dynamic, and multifaceted. His memoir offers readers not only fascinating personal stories, but also valuable historical insights and wisdom drawn from a lifetime of experience. Readers will find this memoir both enlightening and inspiring.
Info about the Book
Available in book stores like Barnes & Noble (B&N) and Amazom.com:
- Paperback: $18.99
- Hardcover: $28,99 at B&N and other book stores. But $40.99 at Amazon.com
- Ebook: $8.99
