This book provides an informal biography of the wunderkind who became one of America's greatest living artists and most well-known architects.Many are familiar with the art and architectural design work of Maya Lin, but the compelling details of her personal background are less well known. This book not only focuses upon Lin's substantial achievements throughout her life, but also presents Maya Lin's "prehistory," describing family events in China that led to her parents' flight to the United States.Author Donald Langmead guides readers through Lin's ancestry and family connections in precommunist China; her childhood and youth in Athens, Ohio; the story behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC; her career after 1982 (by decades); and emphasis on environmental conservation. Written for a young adult and general readership, Maya Lin: A Biography provides an up-to-date description of how she became one of the most famous and respected artists in America.

Includes an index of important people and artworks

Series ForewordIntroduction and AcknowledgmentsTimeline: Events in the Life of Maya LinChapter 1 "Where Are You Really From?": Chinese AncestryChapter 2 A Tradition in Architecture: Lin Huiyin and Liang SichengChapter 3 Escaping China: Maya Lin's ParentsChapter 4 "People Here Are Nice": Athens, OhioChapter 5 Outside, Looking In: Childhood and YouthChapter 6 Almost for "a Lark": An Undergraduate at YaleChapter 7 Design in Mashed Potato: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial CompetitionChapter 8 Annus Horribilis: Building the Vietnam Veterans MemorialChapter 9 Accretions and Aggravations: Continuing Conflicts in WashingtonChapter 10 New Haven, New York: New BeginningsChapter 11 Out of the Wings: The Architect as ArtistChapter 12 A Hectic Decade: The 1990sChapter 13 A New MillenniumFurther ReadingIndex