Be Water, My Friend: The Biography of Bruce Lee

University Press returns with another short and captivating portrait of one of history’s most compelling figures, Bruce Lee.

Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco on November 27, 1940, while his father, a famous Hong Kong opera singer, was on tour in the United States. The young Lee wasted no time in pursuit of his future stardom – landing his first acting role at the age of 3 months. A few weeks later, Lee and his family returned to Hong Kong.

Lee became a child actor, trained in martial arts, emerged as a talented dancer, wrote poetry, won the Hong Kong cha-cha competition, got into fights at school, joined a street gang, got sent to live with relatives in America, became a dance instructor, started a martial arts school, invented Jeet Kune Do, married his college sweetheart, taught celebrities, had children, got philosophical, mastered personal fitness, became a movie star in Hong Kong, broke box office records, became a movie star in America, died prematurely at age 32, and became a global pop culture icon.

This short book tells the intensely human story of a man who changed the world in a way that no one else could.