- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: FSG Adult; Reprint edition (May 1 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0374527369
- ISBN-13: 978-0374527365
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 13.7 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#576,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #82 in Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Special Groups > Asian American Studies
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
While growing up in New Jersey in the 1950s and '60s, Zia was provided with plenty of American history by her teachers, while her father inundated her with stories of China's past. Yet she was left wondering about people like herself, Asian Americans, who seemed to be "MIH--Missing in History." In this ambitious and richly detailed account of the formation of the Asian-American community--which extends from the first major wave of immigration to Gold Mountain" (as the Chinese dubbed America during the gold rush) to the recent influx of Southeast Asians, who since 1975 have nearly doubled the Asian-American population--Zia fills those absences, while examining the complex origins of the events she relates. The result is a vivid personal and national history, in which Zia guides us through a range of recent flash points that have galvanized the Asian-American community. Among them are the brutal, racially motivated murder of Vincent Chin in Detroit in 1982; the devastating riots in Los Angeles in 1992, where almost half of the $1 billion in damages to the city were sustained by Korean-American shop owners; and the embattled South Asian New York City cab drivers who, in May of 1998, banded together with the New York Taxi Workers alliance and pulled off a citywide strike. The recent boom in the Asian-American population (from half a million in the 1950s to 7.3 million in 1990), coupled with Zia's fresh perspective, makes it unlikely that their stories will go missing again. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Asian Americans have only recently emerged as a cohesive, self-identified racial group. Now, award-winning Asian American journalist Zia traces the changing politics and cultures of this significant but disjointed group of people by examining the incidents that helped galvanize them. Drawing on both family stories and public events (everything from the Vincent Chin affair to the boycott of Korean American--owned stores in Brooklyn) Zia surveys the history of Asian Americans, the rapid development of their new political force, and the unique issues they face. This well-written book is an important addition to the growing field of Asian American studies. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
-Mee-Len Hom, Hunter Coll. Lib., New York
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
-Mee-Len Hom, Hunter Coll. Lib., New York
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
"Little China doll, what's your name? Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
"Little China doll, what's your name? Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST read,
By Sheng F Hsu (NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Asian American Dreams (Paperback)
I would give it more then 5 stars if I could. It should be a part of our school curriculum.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Where are you from?,
By nunchi (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People (Hardcover)
I remember as a young child, other kids would ask me, "Where are you from?" Even though I was a native U.S. citizen, I would answer "Korea" without even thinking about it. Their response would be a blank stare and a "Where?" They all knew China, and even Japan, but rarely Korea. I grew up thinking that I was from a place that no one knew existed. Now when people ask me, "Where are you from?" I answer "Los Angeles," and I receive the response, "You know what I mean. Really, where are you from?" This question has plagued me throughout my life. People assume I cannot simply be an American - I must be a foreigner.What Helen Zia has done is taken this universal experience among Asian Americans and transformed it into a quest to learn what it means to be Asian and American. She examines pivotal points in Asian American history and acknowledges racism, but also examines what Asian Americans must do as a whole to become seen as "American" and not as a "gook" or a "chink." As a college student who's done a little bit of research on Asian Americans, it enlightened me on my responsibilites to make my voice heard and also educated me on the history of the Asian American Civil Rights Movement - something that didn't even exist 60 years ago.
4.0 out of 5 stars
a very readable history,
By A Customer
This review is from: Asian American Dreams (Paperback)
Zia's accout of Asian American history is highly readable, panning a long stretch of time and focusing in on a series of major events (that are detailed in other reviews, which I will not reiterate). And, as many of the reviewers already stated, she provides more than an introduction to these events. Unfortunately, Zia's journalistic background---which I see as the simplification of complex issues and the lack of historical depth---surfaces often when she attempts to provide historical context. That is, she often paints in broad strokes (in an effort to state her case, no doubt), especially when dealing with other ethnic groups. A case in point is her discussion of 1921 and 1924 immigration quotas acts. Instead of simply dealing with the implication of these acts on immigration from Asia, she decides to insert statistics on immigration from Italy at the time, leaving the reader to conclude that immigration from Italy was not restricted. Why she does this, one can only wonder. In fact, the quotas acts did reduce immigration from Italy to a mere trickle, and the language that was used to reduce this immigration was most certainly racialized, since Italians were seen as a dark skinned, uneducated, crime-prone people. Zia would have been better advised to leave reference to Italians out, especially if she is not willing to do them historical justice. After all, they too are an ethnic minority with their own distinct history in America Aside from this slip (visable in other places in her text), Zia still writes a very informed and accessible text.
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