a fascinating presentation of the not less fascinating life of a woman, who was in the epicenter of changes, risks, murders, substances, and criminal activities. The less you know, the more fascinating the life of this woman will unfold. I sincerely appreciate the hard work and depth of research the author went to discover and carefully present the sides of the story that may not normally be very hard to tell.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Rowman & Littlefield for an advance copy of this biography on a woman who fought to live the way she wanted, be it in love, life and her people, and became a folk hero to some, a villain to others, even as she remained unknown to the world.

Being a rebel means a lot of different things. Rebelling against your parents, wearing pants, not wanting to be traditional, loving differently than society appreciates. Or a rebel against governments, fighting the communists for the betterment of your people, and making connections that will last later. Or rebelling against the law, creating a territory that grew opium that made lots of money, and helped finance many plans by the CIA in their numerous operations in Asia. Olive Yang was all this and more. A revolutionary, a drug empress, a mother, a lover of guns, women, and American Jeeps. A not so good mother, a nontraditional daughter, who wore pants, lead an army and became a folk hero. A legend in the area of Myanmar, Olive Yang is not as well known her, though her legacy has caused a lot of damage all over the world. The Opium Queen: The Untold Story of the Rebel Who Ruled the Golden Triangle written by journalist and writer Gabrielle Paluch is a story of both Olive, and her myth, and the land that made her, and that she nearly broke in so many ways.

Olive Yang loved guns, women, and living life the way she wanted it, and hated to be told what to do. In America a man like this would be celebrated. Olive Yang was a woman, and a lesbian, something she never tried to deny, nor hide. Starting at an early age she rebelled, first as her mother wanted to bind her feet to make her a real catch for future husbands. To bind feet, they would first be broken then tied, so they did not heal well. Olive, somehow didn't let this bother her, learning to walk on her heels, and still able to ride the horses that she loved. To marry she was given guns, and fought her husband at every opportunity, having a child, but abandoning her family for a life as a rebel. Soon she was fighting the Communists, making deals with drug dealers, and working with the Central Intelligence Agency in efforts to destabilise China, which hurt her own people. However Olive Yang was just getting started.

A fascinating book about a true character. There is much discussed about Olive Yang, but getting to the truth is the hardest part. So many stories that really did turn out to be true. Gabrielle Paluch does a really good job, researching and finding people who knew Olive Yang and trying to find out the truth. Actually the book is almost a dual biography, as Paluch's research takes her to many interesting places, and dangerous too. The book is very well written, and really does its best to tell what the true stories are, from legends that Olive Yang put out, or her enemies might have told. Yes she stabbed a baby, but it was an accident. She did steal many wives from her enemies, and her friends too. And yes Olive was owed a lot of powerful favors, from political to criminal people. Also the book tries to explain the politics and history of the region, and does a very good job at that also. A very interesting read.

Recommended for people who would like to know more about the intersection of the CIA and drug running, there is a long history, and this just touches on a bit of it. Also for readers of biographies on woman defying society, and living life on her own terms, even if that puts a person deep into a criminal underground. A well written book on a person I knew little about. I look forward to more by Gabrielle Paluch.

When Gabrielle Pallage went to work for a newspaper in Myanmar straight out of college it would be years before she ever heard of Miss hairy legs but once she did she wanted to know more. It would take her to dive bars, dark parts of her New temporary country she would meet Olive’s paranoid sun her niece and a slew of strange characters but eventually she would get the story and what a story it is. She got her name Olive from the nun’s at St. Mary’s her family called her urgy, which means second sister in her language. Where she got her original authentic attitude from would be something of myth and legend. She’s from a very long line of cheif’s as her dad was when she was little. Olive would also grow up to run a kingdom of sorts send it even had a military. When she grew up smoking opium wasn’t look down upon it was just like white middle-class moms drinking wine today its so for her to cornered the market all the product only came natural in her world. To say it came natural isn’t the same as it coming easy because with anything that makes lots of money Whiteman and other contenders would buy for her position but all it was smart and despite being jailed in many other atrocities she lived to her eighties and still had the loyalty and companionship she earned over a lifetime. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and although my summary doesn’t do it justice the author definitely does with great research and as you read the book you learned she also has great tenacity because she writes an exhaustively research story about one who not much is known or at least not until now. I especially enjoyed the history of the country the history of the hill people in her great set up of the atmosphere a different Times she spoke of. What a great book a total five star read! I received this book from NetGalley and a publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.