Audio Books

I AM JACKIE CHAN
By Jackie Chan
Read by Daxing Zhang
Dove Audio
3 hours (abridged), $18
ISBN 0-7871-1801-X
As this fast-paced, entertaining autobiography proves, the life of action movie star Jackie Chan would itself make an excellent film. It's a rags-to-riches story full of action, drama, humor, poignant moments, and even romance. The son of Chinese refugees, Chan was placed in a boarding school/academy that trained children in the art of Chinese opera, which included acrobatics, martial arts, swordplay, dance, and singing. Upon arriving at the academy, the young boy with boundless energy was thrilled at the idea of learning martial arts. But the school was straight out of a Dickens novel; the children were forced to train 12 hours a day, allowed only five hours of sleep a night, and were severely beaten whenever they made the slightest mistake. In a cruel twist of fate, the teenaged Chan left the school after 10 years of rigorous training only to find that the audience for Chinese opera was dwindling and that it was no longer a viable career. He then became a movie stuntman, eventually achieving worldwide stardom as an actor with his unique blend of action, comedy, and death-defying stunts. Reader Daxing Zhang does an excellent job with the material and is nothing short of adorable telling the story of Chan's romance with a popular Taiwanese actress, whom he later married. Chan was amazed that this beautiful and demure star could like an uneducated, rough-and-tumble guy like himself, and as Zhang reads their dialogue, Chan's overeager, schoolboy enthusiasm comes through in his voice.