Reactions to “Letters of the Dragon.”

I recently finished the book Letters of the Dragon, correspondence, 1958-1973, edited by John Little. I highly recommend it. It feels like reading a Bruce Lee autobiography using his personal letters to family and friends. The book is divided into four parts.

Part 1. Discovering America (1958-1963)

Part 1 traces his return to San Francisco in 1959 to finish High School. It includes a love letter to his future wife Linda Cadwell written in 1963.

Part 2. From Gung Fu to Green Hornet (1964-1966)

Part 2 follows his journey from a martial artist to his first acting success on the tv series, The Green Hornet. I enjoyed reading his letters to his closest friends including Taky Kimora, George Lee, and James Yimm Lee. It comes across that he values his friendships and often gives his friends advice and support. HIs letters also show his development as a martial artist, setting up his martial arts schools, and playing Kato on The Green Hornet. He asked his friend George Lee to make custom martial arts equipment including a head guard and grip machine.

Part 3 Jeet Kune Do (1967-1970)

Part 3 continues his development in martial arts and the creation of his martial arts philosophy of Jeet Kune Do. He had his friend George Lee create three Jeet Kune Do signs with the Ying Yang symbols to show his new martial arts philosophy. George Lee also made a miniature tombstone to illustrate that stylized martial arts can kill a “fluid” martial artist. George Lee also made wall mounted punching bags and a hand held kicking/punching board. It was funny to hear of his travel adventures with his Great Dane Bo who he brings on a plane and has to give tranquilizers.

Part 4 A Star Begins to Rise (1971-1972)

Part 4 shows how Bruce Lee becomes so famous and successful. We hear about the Trip to India to scope out filming locations for the proposed film The Silent Flute and his work on the tv series Longstreet. While filming the Big Boss in Pakchong, Thailand he had to deal with many mosquitoes and cockroaches.

Resource:

Letters of the Dragon: The Original 1958-1973 Correspondence, John Little, Editor, Tuttle Publishing, 1998, 2016. Volume 5 of the Bruce Lee Library, commissioned by the Bruce Lee Estate. Letters to friends, family, and business associates. Put together by John Little, Bruce Lee historian.

AI Narration provided by elevenlabs.io. Bruce Lee quotes read by AI voice over.