WATER MIRROR ECHO by Jeff Chang - Vogue 'The Best Books of 2025 So Far'

Vogue | October 7, 2025

Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America by Jeff Chang (September)

Say “Bruce Lee,” and the name conjures up a vision, a concept, or an ideal to almost everybody in the world, along the lines of Muhummad Ali or Bob Marley. Poke a bit beneath the surface, though, and just what people know about the martial arts legend and film star often proves to be quite vague and ethereal. Enter Water Mirror Echo (Mariner), Jeff Chang’s lively and deeply researched biography of Lee that doubles as a probing exploration of Lee’s profound effect on Asian American identity. Along with telling the gripping story of Lee’s life and groundbreaking career, Chang (whose first book, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, was named one of the best American nonfiction books of the last quarter century) reframes the legend as a crucial pioneer and catalyst of assimilation, pride, and representation who, decades after his death at the age of 32, remains a powerful icon of power and resistance. This is that rare book that’s monumental in scope, ambition, and execution—and it’s both wildly fun and deeply rewarding.

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