Writer Karl Taro Greenfeld was editor of “Time Asia” from 2002 To 2004. During his tenure, he witnessed the Sars epidemic from inside the media machine, and has subsequently released his third book, titled “China Syndrome: The Killer Virus that Crashed the Middle Kingdom,” which he will be discussing at the Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival. Born in Japan to writer parents, he grew up between New York and Los Angeles. He is currently based in LA, where he is editor-at-large for “Sports Illustrated.”
Growing up Asian in white communities, I’ve always had this outsider feeling, and that never goes away.
Whatever it was I studied, I didn’t do it very well. I finished college, bummed around New York for a while trying to write for magazines, and then moved to Japan as an English teacher.
I was a terrible teacher. If you’re a 23-year-old guy and there’s a very pretty 18-year-old girl in your class, she’s going to have the upper hand.
A couple of times in my life, I have been lucky enough to write a book about my version of what went down. If no one else comes forward with their version of events, it sort of becomes de facto. That’s kind of cool, I guess.
With “China Syndrome,” I had to do a lot more reporting, try to understand about virology and microbiology, and the history of microbes and Pasteur. This is a very journalistic book. The voice is familiar, but it’s more of a conventional thriller thing. Like “The Hot Zone,” but set in China.