Iris Chang

About the Author

Iris Chang was a pioneering journalist and historian whose unflinching pursuit of historical truth illuminated one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century. Born in 1957 in Princeton, New Jersey, to Chinese immigrant parents, she grew up immersed in stories of her heritage and the atrocities endured by her ancestors. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Chang's career began in investigative reporting before she turned her focus to World War II history. Her seminal work, The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, brought global attention to the 1937 massacre in Nanjing, China, where Japanese forces perpetrated unimaginable horrors against civilians. Through meticulous research, survivor interviews, and vivid prose, Chang not only documented the event but also challenged the erasure of this tragedy from collective memory. Despite facing intense backlash and personal struggles, her dedication to justice and human rights inspired countless readers and scholars, cementing her legacy as a fearless voice for the voiceless.