Bookcase

[kitty]

This thread is for Asian American books that you guys have read. That way, if you're ever thinking of buying a new book, you can look through this topic to find fiction and non-fiction Asian American literature. Put down the title, author, and a brief summary of what it's about. Please don't discuss the books here. Instead, start a new thread if you want to talk about the book. Also, please include a short rating out of five for the book.

[kitty]

Title: Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans
Author: Ronald Takaki
Published:Penguin Books, 1990

This book is an in-depth narrative of Asian American history, covering most Asian ethnic groups and their journey to America. Not too much comparative study is done between the different ethnic group experiences, but it is a good reference for people who wish to learn more about immigration of first generation Asian Americans to the U.S.A. Not too dense reading but not really easy reading either.

Rating: 4 out of 5

[kitty]

Title: Obasan
Author: Joy Kogawa
Published: 1982

A young adult book that deals with a young Japanese Canadian girl who is sent into the WWII internment camps for the Japanese. The book follows her relocation and her sense of abandonment as her family is forcibly separated because of the events of the war and its aftermath.

Rating: 4 out of 5

edit: not Japanese American. Thanks Shuriken!!

[specialK]

Title: Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting
Author: Vijay Prashad

A book that examines the effects of individual cultures on other cultures. Argues that through polycultural (as opposed to "multicultural") coalition building is vital in the improvment in the standard of living of minorities.

Rating: 4 out of 5

[hooligan]

Title: Bone
Author: Fae Myenne Ng


One of the first book from the Asian American literature collection that I read. I loved it. It discusses the idea of identity from a first person perspective using the mother and the main character's two sisters as vehicles. It's a fictional depiction of Chinese American women and how they have had to deal with the immigrant and American experience.

Rating: 5 out of 5

[hooligan]

Title: Yellow
Author: Frank Wu


Professor Frank Wu takes a very progressive outlook on the direction of Asian American culture and political awareness. He makes the point that Asians are not black nor white but should be treated as an entity which can save race relations. He addresses things like Affirmative Action (which he supports), the model minority myth and the perpetual foreigner myth. His style of writing is very similar to Takaki's in that he uses various forms of first person narratives and personal anecdotes to make it all go down easier. Overall, this book might disturb more conservative minded Asian Americans because he does take a very left view on many issues, but it's still a great read.

Rating: 4 out of 5

[hooligan]

Title: Nisei Daughter
Author: Monica Sone


Um, this book was very different in comparison with some of the more angry stuff that dealt with the internment. Monica aka Kazuko writes from an autobiography perspective. Truthfully, the book is a quick and indulging read (I read it in about 2 afternoons). A lot of criticism has surfaced about this book due to its light-hearted way of treating the internment. I actually thought it was kind of refreshing to have a book that dealt more with the Nisei Daughter experience rather than building a book around the internment.

Rating: 4 out of 5

[hooligan]

Title: America is in the Heart
Author: Carlos Bulosan


Much in the same way Bone described a very dark America, Carlos Bulosan's writes in the same fashion in this sem-biographical novel. Specifically, his book deals with the Filipino American experience as a migrant worker during America's 1920s - 1930s. He talks a lot about his life in the Philippines and then his experience working in California and throughout the American Northwest. The most interesting part of the book was when he started to become a labor organizer and rallying the workers. :) yay for Asian American activism.

Rating: 4 out of 5

[specialK]

Title: Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in WWII
Author: Ronald Takaki

this book is an introspect into the experiences that different ethnicities (african americans, native americans, latinos/chicanos, asian americans, japanese and otherwise, and jewish americans) faced in america and overseas during world war ii. while tackling the issue that minorities were fighting injustice overseas in spite of injustice at home (double victory being victory against oppression overseas and at home), the book also touches base with gender issues, remembering that women also played a large role in the war.

overall, very interesting to see things from other perspectives. it reaffirms the notion that many minorities share the same struggles and that working together is possible and definitely beneficial.

Rating: 4 out of 5

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Title: Blue Dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles Riots (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0674077059/qid=1059108639/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-5106978-5561742?v=glance&s=books)
Authors: Nancy Abelmann, John Lie
Publication: Harvard University Press, September 1997

Nonfiction. Korean immigrants' transnational identity and community development following the Rodney King riots.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Title: In Search of a Voice: Karaoke and the Construction of Identity in Chinese America (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805819126/ref=lpr_g_1/102-5106978-5561742?v=glance&s=books)
Author: Casey Man
Publication: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, May 1996

Title pretty much says it all ... pretty much the only book to look at the role of karaoke among Chinese people in the US (even among young Malaysian Chinese in NY!)

[YuheiCarreau]

Title: Blu's Hanging (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0380731398/qid=1059112107/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9760189-9189641?v=glance&s=books)
Author: Lois-Ann Yamanaka


A really fantastic book about a JA family in Hawaii. The mother dies shortly before the story begins, and the eldest daughter (13) Ivah narrates as she tries to care for her troubled brother Blu and her mute sister Maisie while their father sinks deeper and deeper into depression. It's a tough read in some places, dealing with poverty, depression, molestation, and puberty with an unnerving honesty and frankness. The entire book is written in the pidgin dialect, which sounds like it'd be difficult to read but is actually quite poetic. I can't reccomend this book enough.

[specialK]

<!--QuoteBegin-YuheiCarreau+Jul 24 2003, 11:55 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (YuheiCarreau @ Jul 24 2003, 11:55 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Title: Blu's Hanging (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0380731398/qid=1059112107/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9760189-9189641?v=glance&s=books)
Author: Lois-Ann Yamanaka


A really fantastic book about a JA family in Hawaii. The mother dies shortly before the story begins, and the eldest daughter (13) Ivah narrates as she tries to care for her troubled brother Blu and her mute sister Maisie while their father sinks deeper and deeper into depression. It's a tough read in some places, dealing with poverty, depression, molestation, and puberty with an unnerving honesty and frankness. The entire book is written in the pidgin dialect, which sounds like it'd be difficult to read but is actually quite poetic. I can't reccomend this book enough. [/b][/quote]
yeah, we had a speaker from USC talk about that book. still have yet to read it.

[kitty]

Title: The Barbarians are Coming
Author: David Wong Louie

A book dealing with the emasculation/demasculation of Asian/Asian American men and their search for an identity within the mainstream of white masculinity. The main character is an Asian American chef who specializes in French food, and who searches for some link to his 'Asian'-ness. He also struggles with the seeming impossibility of love and equality as he must choose between the white woman he is dating and the girl that his parents have brought over from the 'motherland' for him to marry. Witty and well-written, this is an amazing book!!

Rating: 5 out of 5

[kitty]

Title: The Rape of Nanking
Author: Iris Chang

Okay, not really a book from the canon of Asian American Literature but... This is a really wonderful and disturbing book about one of the best kept horrific military secrets of the 20th century. Chang looks at the Nanking massacre from three different angles and goes into an in-depth discussion as to why it may have been kept from the history books. The pictures and descriptions of the deaths are really moving and gruesome so be prepared.

Rating: 5 out of 5

[TheHapacalypse]

TITLE: American Knees
AUTHOR: Shawn Wong

Fiction. One of the very few books that deals with hapa issues and has a hapa as a main character. So, naturally, I am a big fan. Well-written and expresses some pretty accurate sentiments, in my humble opinion.

[shutter]

Title: Monitored Peril: Asian Americans and the Politics of TV Representation
Author: Darrell Y. Hamamoto

Since I mentioned it in another thread, thought I should mention it here. A great read that focuses on Asian American portrayals in TV, though a bit dated now.

[moschikat]

Title Audrey Hepburn's Neck
Author Alan Brown

Fiction.

An interestingly good read that explored gay and heterosexuality, mixed in with history and a guy in search of answers about his past.

Rating : 4/5

[moschikat]

Title Sputnik Sweetheart
Author Haruki Murakami

Fiction.

A semi-love story intertwined with mystery as a young Japanese teacher finds himself falling in love with one of his university classmates as she falls in love with her new boss. Lesbian and heterosexual content.
Beautifully written.
5/5

[hooligan]

Title The Asian American Educational Experience
Editors: Don T. Nakanishi and Tina Yamano Nishia

non-fiction

A great resource about the educational issues facing AAPI students. they examine things such as institutionalized racism and affirmative action. the book also discusses a lot of the history that goes into AAPI education. also how the model minority applies to education. great read, but very dry.

5/5

[hooligan]

Title Working with Asian American College Students
Editors: Marylu K. McEwen, Corinne Maekawa Kodama, Alvin N. Alvarez, Sunny Lee, Christopher T. H. Liang

non-fiction

Another good book on higher education and Asian American college students. There are not just statistics, but they talk about the psychological development of asian american/ethnic identity, problems with higher education, educationally at-risk students, leadership developement, and resources for AAPI students. great read, especially the chapter on the psychosocial development.

5/5

[hooligan]

Title Asian American Education: Historical Background and Current Realitites
Editors: Weinberg

non-fiction

I didn't like this book that much compared to the previous too, but it's still a really good read. The researcher was able to break down ethnicities from chinese all the way to asian indian. although very complete, it is written from a eurocentric perspective. although a good read if you're interested in education.

3/5

[hooligan]

Title Scent of Apples
Editors: Bienvendio N. Santos

fiction

i liked this book a lot, the stories in this book was written from the 1920s-1940s and captures the intense loneliness and sorrows of the old migrant filipino male workers from back then. a must read. it's a collection of stories from a very satirical point of view. it's also very touching to hear the voices of these men, many of them are dying or dead.

5/5

[hooligan]

Title: Clay Walls
Editors: Kim Ronyoung aka Gloria Hahn

fiction

a very good book, it's written from 3 perspectives and although it seems to be a straightforward narrative, it involves a lot of metaphor and history. meaning you have to know a bit of the history to understand the story being told. my favorite section is that of chun, but it's a person choice.

you have to read this book if you're interested in korean american history, the narrative extends from the 1920s to around the 1950s.

5/5

[hooligan]

Title No-no Boy
Editors: John Okada

fiction

this is a depressing book, it almost made me cry. i guess i relate with some of the things that the book discussed. it involves a man named ichiro who declined the call of duty and was marginalized due to his decision. he also internalized many of the thoughts and harassment that the Japanese American community did to him.

this is the first book that i read that dealt with the issues that arose from the Japanese internment in the concentration camps. a must read for anyone interested in what happened after WWII.

5/5

[hooligan]

Title The Chickencoop Chinaman/The Year of the Dragon
Editors: Frank Chin

fiction/play

ever seen an angry asian man? you will after you read both of these plays. some of the themes are kind of hard to understand and i feel this book deserves a re-read for me to understand the whole story. the plays were performed in the 1970s. :D

4/5

[hooligan]

Title: China Men
Editors: Maxine Hong Kingston

fiction

i believe maxine hong kingston is the writer that amy tan could have been. in china men she writes about the experiences of the early chinese migrant men during the years of the gold rush and some after. if you're familiar with chinese american history this book may not be for you, but you should give this a look through just to get a feel of it.

4/5

[hooligan]

Title: Race and Politics : Asian AMericans, Latinos, and Whites in a Los Angeles Suburb
Editors: Leland T. Saito

non-fiction

a very dry book about the development of the Asian American community of San Gabriel and the discrimination and racism that went into building the first suburban chinatown.

the book discusses the trends and the history of San Gabriel.

here's a passage from the back:

Leland Saito presents an insider's view of the political, economic, and cultural implications of this ethnic mix. He examines how diverse residents of the region have worked to overcome their initial antagonisms and develop new, more effective political alliances
4/5

[hooligan]

Title: Servants of Globalization : Women, Migration, and Domestic Work
Editors: Rhacel Salazar Parrenas

non-fiction

a book discussing the sociology, psychology, experiences, history and factors that went to filipina migration from the philippines to all over the world. an interesting book that discusses current trends in migration.

this book discusses the matrix of marginalization, that of gender, race and class. it's hard to explain the dynamics of this book since it covers so much, so you should give it a read yourself. it is a non-fiction book so many people might find it rather dry.

4/5

[hooligan]

Title: THe Korean American Dream : Immigrants and Small Business in New York City
Editors: Kyeyoung Park

non-fiction

a book discussing the korean american experience in NYC. a very detailed book, the author was actually the professor for my asian am class. another book that discusses the experiences of dislocation, diaspora and immigration of asian americans.

another must read for those who are interested in the korean american experience.

4/5

[hooligan]

Title: Obasan
Author: Joy Kogawa
Published: 1982

A young adult book that deals with a young Japanese Canadian girl who is sent into the WWII internment camps for the Japanese. The book follows her relocation and her sense of abandonment as her family is forcibly separated because of the events of the war and its aftermath.

Rating: 4 out of 5

edit: not Japanese American. Thanks Shuriken!!
just to follow up, the book is really slow for about the first 140 pages and then the book makes a flurry of progression in the following 160 pages. it's a good read, if it bores you just stick with it because it's heartbreaking. notice silence being used as a metaphor and the characters that use silence and break silence. also the symbol of stone is really important.

the japanese canadians had a much harder time than the japanese americans did. a must read for those interested in nikkei history.

5/5

[hooligan]

Title: Quiet Odyssey
Author: Mary Paik Lee

non-fiction

i'm not entirely sure if this is autobiographical, but i believe it is (as opposed to a biography). Sucheng Chan helped write this book and it describes the life of Korean Americans over 3 generations. *tap, i'm going to send you this book as well.

it's a narrative that talks about immigration and its written with a sort of simple dialogue, but the history's there and it's a pretty good book.

4/5

[hooligan]

Title: Hmong Means Free: Life is Laos and America
Editors: Sucheng Chan

non-fiction

a book that discusses the hmong peoples. if anything, it's a comparative piece about life in america compared to life in laos. it's not a story book, rather is contains narratives of the hmong immigrants from laos. it was compiled by uc hmong students interviewing their families.

a good book if you want to learn about the hmong culture and history.

4/5

[hooligan]

Title: Nisei Daughter
Author: Monica Sone

non-fiction

another narrative. i didn't like this book as much because it was published shortly after world war 2 and the political climate only allowed for books like these. it's a very simple narrative that really sheds a little light on the japanese americans pre and post internment.

the book almost seems awkward in its handling of the issue and didn't discuss some of the more radical issues that are usually associated with the internment now.

3/5

[hooligan]

Title: Making More Waves: New Writing by Asian American Women
Editors: Elaine Kim, Lilia V. Villanueva, and Asian Women United of California

fiction

a collection of stories from the asian american women's perspective. i liked the poetry a lot. not entirely sure what to say, but it's a good read and you should definitely check it out to see how race and gender mix together.

5/5

[hooligan]

Title: Dogeaters
Author: Jessica Hagedorn

fiction.

a great book. it rubbed me the wrong way at first, but after the first few pages i really started to like the book. it describes the sociopolitical climate of the philippines during her pre-Marcos period. using symbolism, media oriented style, and metaphor she writes an engaging story about american influence, class differences, and sexuality.

this book definitely is NOT asian american, rather it examines the reasons for immigration during that period. all in all, the book is very unsettling and makes you look hard at the politics of race and american economic and social colonism of other countries. especially, the precarious position of the filipinos most affected by america.

5/5

[kmeister1]

Title: Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White
Author: Frank H. Wu

The author makes many good points about Asian life in America, but like so many college professors, he says in 400+ pages that which could have easily been said in 200. Too bad. Such potential!

Rating: 2 out of 5

[hooligan]

title: the spirit catches you and you fall down
author: anne fadiman

the book explores an ethnographic view of the clash of cultures between medicine and the hmong. the book discusses hmong history, culture, and future. anne fadiman, the author, is not a cultural broker, but writes from a the most "objective" view that being a stranger of both cultures offers her.

the story she writes is all encompassing. what she doesn't really discuss is racism, prejucie ,although testimonies by some of the doctors and the clinician alludes to cultural insensitivity and intolerance of other cultures. a good book if you want to learn about the culture of medicine and hmong culture.

5/5 a really good read, especially if you want to learn about the hmong and really don't have any idea of where to start.

[hooligan]

Title: In the Absence of Sun
Author: Helie Lee

First of all, thanks TapestryBabe, you rock.

This book is a narrative of one woman's family to help 9 of her family members escape North Korea. The story itself is not a testiment to an all encompassing view of the Korean experience, but does highlight many issues that South Koreans and North Koreans have to deal with.

It's a really good read if you want to learn about the struggles of Helie Lee. It's an interesting anedoctal view of both the North Korean Communist government and the experiences of a Korean American/Korean family.

5/5

[Bhodi_Li]

Title: In the Absence of Sun
Author: Helie Lee

First of all, thanks TapestryBabe, you rock.

This book is a narrative of one woman's family to help 9 of her family members escape North Korea. The story itself is not a testiment to an all encompassing view of the Korean experience, but does highlight many issues that South Koreans and North Koreans have to deal with.

It's a really good read if you want to learn about the struggles of Helie Lee. It's an interesting anedoctal view of both the North Korean Communist government and the experiences of a Korean American/Korean family.

5/5
I would also recommend it's sequel Still Life with Rice

[hooligan]

Title: Passing it On-
By: Yuri Kochiyama

This book is not supposed to be an autobiographical account of her life. Kochiyama wanted to highlight many experiences, people, and organizations that she worked, loved, and lived with. In Passing it On- she does just that, passes the experiences that she thinks to be the most significant of her life to the family members of the new generation.

I found the experience she had shaping her politics missing. One of the most notable experience that Kochiyama decided not to discuss was her relationship with Malcolm X. She also recants her roll as a mother in many of the chapters. It's interesting to see how hard the life of an activist really is.

Overall, the book sheds light on the life of a great Japanese American woman activist and the struggles she had to live through. This is a must read for many asian american pacific islander activists out there.

5/5

[jeesukkie]

Title: Yellow
Author: Don Lee

Lee's compilation of overlapping short stories published in various magazines, all taking place in the fictional town of Rosarita Bay (near SF). It addresses a lot of Asian-American stereotypes and truths in smart, satirical, and hilarious fashion. The last story, which bears the title of the book, is the longest and most riveting. Witty, honest, and serious.

4/5

[hooligan]

Title: Are Prisons Obsolete?
Author: Angela Davis
Pages: 128 pages

Excellent literature arguing for the abolitionment of prisons. She makes several arguments based on historial, racial and gender influences on the type of people who serve time in prisons. Davis also discusses the prison industrial complex, extending the military industrial complex to prisons.

She expounds ideas because not enough literature, research and visibility has been dedicated to the ideas of prisons. I especially appreciated the attention she paid to the number of minorities in prison as well as the visibility she gives to women. What she could have done was talk about the experiences of minority women in prison, but over all, a very well done piece of literature.

5/5

[annie]

you should read Foucault discipline and punish

[Shuriken]

Creative Differences: Asian American Writers Straddle the Racial Divide (http://www.wga.org/WrittenBy/1001/asian.html) by Dinah Eng

[Faithless]

In Search of Equality.
By Charles J McClain. 1994.
ISBN: 0-520-08337-7.

The jacket covers describes it well:
"This illuminating volume probles the efforts of th Chinese community to battle the manifold kinds of discrimination encountered at the hands at the government during the nineteenth century. Contrary to the stereotypical image of a passive, univolved, and insular group, the population revealed by Charles McClain is politically savvy and familiar with American political institutions, resentful of discriminatory treatement and capable of mobilizing to fight it. He draws on English- and Chinese language documents, court files, and other sources to chronicle the ways the Chinese sought redress and change."

Me: The key words -- "the nineteenth century". So, while ABC depicted a Kwai Chang Kane running around looking for his father, real Chinese American men and women were fighting a political struggle in their communities and the court systems to gain equality.

Haven't thought about this book until I saw this thread.

You talk about all your important amendments to the constitution. What other one could be as important as the fourteenth? As the book says, "that provision of the amendment provides that 'no State shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.'"

McClain focuses on California cases. He looks at some interesting groups, as well -- one being laundrymen. You know, the "we need more Calgon!" type. Except these people demanded, instead, "we need more fucking rights, fuckahs!" Curious, we've never seen that side expressed on Bonanza.

Surprising, the book reads less like a legal brief, than it does as interesting history and stories.

McClain, at the time, was a lecturer at Cal's Boalt School of Law, among other things.

[ism]

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
by Dai Sijie. 2002.
ISBN: 0385722206

A fiction with the Cultural Revolution as the primary force that somehow reads like a fable. Two teenagers are considered intellectual enemies because of their parents and are sent to the countryside to be "reeducated." They spend their days under harsh conditions, hauling manure and working the coal mine. One day they discover a trove of banned books -- Western literature translated into Chinese, and this changes their lives. They meet a little seamstress and decide to educate her with the books until she becomes as refined as the cityfolk. Part historical, love story, coming of age, and working within a framework of literature's function. Delightful and wry at times, a fast read.

4/5

[raacluse]

Against All Odds
Chuck Norris with Ken Abraham
2004

autobiography by this action icon with a little help from a ghostwriter... I learned that he had met with Bruce Lee a week or so before the latter's mysterious death. Lee mentioned experiencing blackouts while filming, and blamed it on stress...

a fast read... more like an oral history than a literary memoir... I'm waiting for someone to published an unauthorized biography, which would put Norris' experiences into context.

[NtshiabLiDej]

Title: Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992
Editors: Jane Hamilton-Merritt

Non-fiction

The Hmong, a mountain people of Laos, were U.S. allies during the Vietnam war. A noble, friendly folk with a 4000-year-old culture, they are the object of a genocidal campaign by the communist Laotian and Vietnamese governments. In this bitter, tragic and disturbing saga, Asian scholar/journalist/photographer Hamilton-Merritt documents the horrible suffering endured by the Hmong since they were abandoned by the U.S. in 1975. Her collection of eyewitness testimonies establishes that the Laotian-Vietnamese forces have field-tested chemical and biological toxins by using Hmong villages as targets (the "yellow rain" dismissed by the Western media as bee dung). The situation is especially urgent because those thousands of Hmong who succeeded in escaping to Thailand are now being forcibly repatriated to their homeland, where they face extermination as a despised minority and former "running dogs of the imperialist." Hamilton-Merritt's impressive study, one hopes, will lead to the belated U.S. recognition of responsibility for the plight of the Hmong. - Publisher's Weekly

5/5

[ahsingjai]

Chinese Playground: A Memoir
Bill Lee
ISBN 0-9670023-0-3; Hardcover; 288 pages; $28.00 (You can get it cheaper on amazon or bn.com

I did a search query on this thread and it didn't show "The Chinatown Playground: A Memior" by Bill Lee.

It's about S.F Chinatown in the 70s. Bill Lee was a member of the "Joe's Boys" a Chinese gang that rivial with the nortorious still active Wah Ching gang. Also talked about the famous Golden Dragon massacre.

It is a very good book to read, and I loved it a lot because he was Taishanese, with simliar upbringing. The most interesting parts of the book is the first half.

Rating: 5/5

Some samples:
http://www.chineseplayground.com/thebook.html

[nola]

The State of Asian America: Activism and Resistance in the 1990s
by Karin Aguilar-San Juan (Editor)

"One hot summer weekend in July 1992, I took the train from Boston to New York City to meet Yuri and Bill Kochiyama, an elder Japanese American couple with a long history of activism on a wide range of issues-including notable personal and political alliances with the African American community."

From Publishers Weekly
This collection of 18 essays by activists and academics should provoke recognition that discussions of race in the U.S. must go beyond the binary black-white model. Glenn Omatsu contributes a valuable overview of Asian-American activism, dating it to the 1968 student strike at San Francisco State University. In a stimulating essay exploring the Los Angeles riots, Bong Hwan Kim notes that simply trying to foster dialogue between blacks and Koreans to solve racial tension is useless without an agenda for social transformation. Sonia Shah observes that Asian women's groups have yet to develop a specifically Asian feminism, though Asian women are victimized by highly particular stereotypes of dress, beauty and accent. Jessica Hagedorn and David Mura argue that their hybrid identities can be a source of richness. Addressing mainstream politics, Milyoung Cho traces political battles in New York City's Chinatown, warning that race-based voting can be self-defeating. Other essays address protests against the musical, Miss Saigon , domestic violence and the future of Asian-American studies. Aguilar-San Juan is a former editor at South End Press.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal
This second book in the "Race and Resistance" series is the first collection exclusively devoted to contemporary Asian American activism. It touches upon a range of pressing issues, including the rise in anti-Asian violence, the social construction of race and ethnicity, the politics of Asian American studies, and the 1992 Los Angeles uprising. The contributors reflect the diverse, often radical voices of labor organizers, artists, film critics, lawyers, writers, and historians. The themes covered here explore not only conventional topics of race and identity but also the empowerment of Asian Americans in the 1990s. The book further advocates an end to all forms of discrimination, from class and gender to geography and generation, within Asian American communities. For libraries with Asian American studies collections.

Hardcover: 504 pages
Publisher: South End Press; 1st ed edition (November 1, 1993)
Language: English
ISBN: 0896084779

A Much Needed Anthology about Activism in Asian America, June 29, 1999
Reviewer: A reader
This was very much the first anthology that specifically addressed contemporary grass-roots orientated social movements of the Asian Pacific Islander American community. The essays are diverse and useful, allowing the reader a full picture of the issues that the APIA community have organized around. Glen Omatsu's essay is astounding clear, concise, and his ability to "tell it like it" is gives readers a true sense of what community-orientated leaders have to say. Not only does this anthology address struggles with other communities but also within the diverse APIA community itself. In a nut-shell, this anthology puts it all together.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0896084760/qid=1123559038/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3061446-6876926?v=glance&s=books#sipbody

[applehead]

the kite runner-khaled hosseini

fiction.

a story about family and friendship that spans
almost four decades. a story about life in afghanistan
pre russian invasion and post taliban rule.
a story about being afghan american, life as an immigrant.
that sorta thing.

i really enjoyed reading about the culture,
the muslim religion and practices.
very interesting.

[nola]

I saw this book at Barnes and Noble and it looked good.

Okihiro says that the mainstream derives its meaning from the "Other" and oppression of the Other which is marginalized groups such as African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, women, gays & lesbians. It reminds me of the definition of white supremacist racism by Dr. Frances Welsing which says that the ultimate purpose of racism is to prevent white genetic annihilation on Earth - a planet in which the overwhelming majority of people are classified as non-white (black, brown, red and yellow) by white-skinned people. As the link I've provided at the bottom of this post says only 30% of the world population is white. 57% of the world, the majority of the world, is in fact, Asian.


Margins and Mainstreams: Asians in American History and Culture
by Gary Y. Okihiro
University of Washington Press, April 1, 1994

Deeper Understandings (review by Amazon reader)
Gary Okihiro, in his book "Margin as Mainstream", examines the margins of historical consciousness, race, gender, class and culture of Asians by widening the discourse in a compelling and scholarly way. Okihiro offers these crucial viewpoints to gain a deeper understanding and a clearer perspective on the mainstream of America today. Okihiro suggests that the mainstream is neither uniform nor all-powerful but actually derives its identity from its representation of its "Other". Okihiro encompases the "other" marginalized groups such as African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, women, gays & lesbians in his book but focuses on how Asians have helped to redefine the meaning of the American identity and to expand it beyond the narrower idea of only white and black. In this wonderful contribution to Asian American studies, historical and legal scholars and Asians in general, Okihiro aptly surfaces and dives into the struggles of Asians in America in how it has helped preserve and advance the principles and ideals of democracy and thereby making America a freer place for all. A good read!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0295973390/qid=1123986266/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-3061446-6876926


“White supremacist racism” is defined in The Isis Papers by Dr. Frances Welsing: The local and global power system structured and maintained by persons who classify themselves as white, whether consciously or subconsciously determined; this system consists of patterns of perception, logic, symbol formation, thought, speech, action and emotional response, as conducted in all areas of people activity (economics, education, entertainment, labor, law politics, religion, sex and war). The ultimate purpose of the system is to prevent white genetic annihilation on Earth - a planet in which the overwhelming majority of people are classified as non-white (black, brown, red and yellow) by white-skinned people. All of the non-white people are genetically dominant (in terms of skin coloration) compared to the genetically recessive white-skinned people.

You can read this in the book Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil: My Life and Times in a Racist, Imperialist Society by Inga Muscio which you can read about at:

www.ingalagringa.com


If the World was a Village of 100 People

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.

There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South America
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth;
all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

Posted: September 1999

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:oeAPp07LFvQJ:www.wowzone.com/100p.htm+world+population+and+people+of+color&hl=en

[nola]

Ordinary Workers; Extraordinary Warriors
by Merilynne Hamano Quon,
posted 10/30/01

Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factory by Miriam Ching Louie, published by South End Press, 2001

"Contrary to conventional wisdom that leans heavily on white/or male academics, (immigrant women workers) are the REAL EXPERTS about the inner workings of the global economy, labor markets, and immigrant communities-speaking to us from the bottom of the sweatshop industry pyramid. They stand steadfast as the first line of whistle-blowers and flak-catchers against corporate greed, government negligence, and racial wrongs. They serve as the tree shakers who knock down the fruit, the piñata busters who break open the goodies-of economic democracy, gender justice, and human rights-for ALL OF US. They are neither victims or superwomen. These sweatshop warriors are simply everyday women who have much to tell and teach”.

Sweatshop Warriors is a scholarly work with a forty page bibliography and detailed footnotes. It qualifies as a must read for every Asian American Studies 101 Class. But just like her essay in the Asian Americans: the Movement and the Moment," this read is feisty, down to earth, and creative!

Miriam Ching Louie speaks to us in the everyday language of women, workers, and young bloods everywhere. She mixes English and the words from our ethnic heritages. She"talks the talk” because, for thirty years, she has"walked the walk” in the student, community, labor, and third world solidarity movements. She is an internationally known speaker clocking in time with Asian Immigrant Women Advocates; Fuerza Unida; and Women of Color Resource Center. Who better to share the stories of her fellow women warriors?

She takes us on a virtual tour that begins in the homelands of China, Korea, Thailand, and Mexico to the factories of the Southwest; the restaurants of Korea town; the sweatshops of El Monte; and the side streets of New York City. We hear from the women worker/warriors directly in verbatim interviews. Our mouths water with vivid descriptions of soul foods cooking while the women tell their stories. Tears of anger well up as we hear the stories of the daily insults on the shop floor; unpaid wages; and deplorable living conditions.

Miriam Ching Louie brilliantly"breaks down” the global economic picture: showing us how most manufacturing, clerical, and services jobs are sub-contracted into tiny, seemingly controllable pieces-rendering 87% of the US work force non-unionized. Rather than leaving us hopeless and helpless, however, we gain courage and inspiration from the struggles and victories of women worker/warriors as they take on Levis Strauss; Jessica McClintock; Donna Karan as well as government agencies and labor unions not stepping up to address their needs.

We learn how the women organized themselves and their communities through community-based workers centers like Chinese Staff and Workers Association in New York City; La Mujer Obrera in El Paso, Texas; Asian Immigrant Women Advocates in Oakland, California; Fuerza Unida in San Antonio, Texas; Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates; Thai Community Development Center and Pilipino Workers Center in Los Angeles, California.

“These community-based workers centers have"enabled (immigrant women workers) to both resist oppressions they face and begin to fashion new ways to work, live, think, and create..to taste the freedom of remaking themselves as fuller human beings…”as (immigrant women workers) carried out their battles, they started to define not only what they were fighting AGAINST but what they were fight FOR."

Community-based workers centers address not only workplace issues but racism against Asian immigrant communities and sexism in the workplace and home. The centers became training grounds for the next generation of activists: where sons and daughters could fight side by side with their mothers. These workers centers developed a model of leadership from the bottom up; not a model of"professional”; hit and run organizers who jump from one struggle to the next. Not a model of"social service” where professionals have to"do for” workers; but a model of self-determination where everyday folk"do for themselves”. It's about women's liberation and community empowerment. It's about workers standing up for their rights. Such centers have integrated the personal and collective lives of these women for the long haul-providing a stable base from which women can support unite with and strengthen others.

Sweatshop Warriors shows us how ordinary women workers became extraordinary warriors and better human beings. We learn from the example of these women that we do not have to be victims of the global economy and a seemingly senseless war. We learn that we can, and MUST, stand up for our rights as workers, women, and members of the third world. We must fight each and every day for economic and political justice, equality and peace. The survival of humanity depends on it.

www.aamovement.net

[younggiftedandblack]

Not sure if this ounts as Asian American lit.

Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat : Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen
by Naomi Moriyama

From Publishers Weekly
It's well known that Japanese women have the lowest obesity rate in the industrialized world (3%) and the highest life expectancy (85 years), and that their cuisine is based on simplicity. Tokyo native Moriyama puts a human face on this phenomenon, that of her mother, Chizuko, in this well-organized, persuasive introduction to a non-Western everyday cooking plan. Just as Moriyama reconstructed Chizuko's cooking practices for herself and her coauthor husband, Doyle (Inside the Oval Office), she shows readers the elements of Chizuko's 6'×12' Tokyo kitchen. She details its pantry ingredients, including bonito (fish) flakes and daikon (radish) and tools such as a rice cooker and wok. Most recipes are based on at least one of the "seven pillars"—fish, vegetables, rice, soy, noodles, tea, fruit—and are familiar and easy to make (Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura, Teriyaki Fish, etc.). Cooking tips abound, but what adds a French Women Don't Get Fat angle is the useful eating advice, such as "Hara hachi bunme," or "Eat until you are 80 percent full." It's a call for moderation that occurs throughout other cultures, and if it's the Japanese version that speaks to readers, good for Moriyama.

Link (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385339976/002-6823839-0258419?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance)

[younggiftedandblack]

When Heaven and Earth Changed Places

by Le Ly Hayslip

Hayslip was born a Vietnamese peasant in 1949; little more than 20 years later she left for the United States with an American husband. Her early years were spent as a Viet Cong courier and lookout; a black marketeer; an unwed mother; a bar girl; a hospital aide; and (once) a prostitute. She was tortured by the South Vietnamese army, raped by Viet Cong, and harassed by Americans. This story is juxtaposed with the tale of her difficult return to Vietnam in 1986. Her account is a part of the Vietnamese conflict that we seldom hear, of the survivors in the middle; it concludes with a plea for both sides to put the war behind them. Frankly written, moving, and meaningful, this is highly recommended for adult and academic collections.
- Kenneth W. Berger, Duke Univ. Lib., Durham, N.C.

Child of War, Woman of Peace

by Le Ly Hayslip

Alternately shocking and inspiring, this sequel to Hayslip's award-winning 1989 account of her youth in wartime Vietnam, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, tells how that peasant girl, now in the U.S., parlays a quick wit and a spirit toughened by war, poverty, rape and desertion into personal worth of more than a million dollars, and finds spiritual peace. Wary of men, but hoping unsuccessfully to gain security through two marriages with Americans, she exchanges the horrors of Vietnam for the unknown ones she finds in southern California. There the deaths of both unloved husbands in short order leave her with a little cash, some Social Security aid and income from small jobs. On this, she raises her children (the eldest of whom is her coauthor here), makes canny investments and almost continually suffers through sorry relations with men who deceive her. But religious faith bolsters her, and she finds satisfaction in the foundation she sets up to help her devastated country, called East Meets West. A drama-packed fairy tale cum horror story, the book is filled with cutting observations about American and Vietnamese victims of the war.

[robotic]

Joy Kogawa's, Obasan

http://www.bestsellersdirect.ca/catalog/usrimage/obasan.jpg

genre: fiction, based on historical context (connotations (http://www.mhc.ab.ca/library/oboc/readersguide.htm))

summary blurb:
naomi is a sheltered and beloved 5 year old when pearl harbor changes her life. seperated from her mother, she watches bewildered as she and her family become enemy aliens, persecuted and despised in their own land. surrounded by hardship and pain, naomi is protected by the resolute endurance of her aunt, obasan, and the silence of those around her. only after naomi grows up, does she return to question that haunting silence.

about the author: joy kogawa is a canadian author, born in vancouver in 1935. her and her family were interned during world war II for their japanese ancestry in slocan, british columbia and coaldale, alberta. kogawa pursued studies at the university of alberta and taught elementary school in coaldale. she then studied music at the university of toronto and started studying at the anglican women's training college and the university of saskatchewan. in 1957, she married and had two children. to-date, she has published several collections of poetry, essays, children's literature and the novels obasan, itsuka and the rain ascends. she has also been involved in seeking redress from the canadian government for the internment of twenty thousand japanese-canadians during world war II.

[Filiprish]

Bobos in Paradise by David Brooks

[robotic]

Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Anuma/ask_me_no_questions-t.jpg

Deportation. Green Card. Residency. Asylum.
For fourteen-year-old Nadira and eighteen-year-old Aisha, these are the words that define their lives.

Nadira and her family are illegal aliens, fleeing to the Canadian border - running from the country they thought would one day be their home. For years, they have lived on expired visas in New York City, hoping they can realize their dream of becoming legal citizens of the United States. But after 9/11, everything changes. Suddenly, being Muslim means being dangerous. A suspected terrorist. And when Nadira's father is arrested and detained at the border, she and her sister, Aisha are sent back to Queens, and told to carry on, as if everything is the same.

But of course nothing is the same. Nadira and Aisha live in fear they'll have to return to a Bangladesh they hardly know. Aisha, once the academic star, falls apart. Now it's up to Nadira to find a way out.

Ask Me No Questions is a searing portrait of modern America in the days of terrorism, orange alerts, and the Patriot Act. It is a story of two sisters, one of whom must find strength to save her family.

read first two chapters (http://www.marinabudhos.com/ask_me_no_questions.html)


Remix: Conversations with Immigrant Teenagers by Marina Budhos

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Anuma/0805051139.jpg

Grade 6 Up-For two-and-a-half years, Budhos interviewed immigrant teenagers from around the country: the New York metropolitan area; Los Angeles; Madison, WI; and Cambridge, MA. The resulting book contains 14 in-depth profiles of older teens, most accompanied by a photograph, and 6 shorter pieces, told solely in the immigrants' own words. They are randomly arranged, except for grouping together the stories of three Muslim girls. Six of the interviewees are from Asia; the rest are from Europe, Central America and the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. These moving accounts tell of the young people's changing relationships within their own families and ethnic communities, as well as their struggles and adjustments with peer groups at school and individuals in the neighborhoods. They also provide insight into American teenage culture. - amazon.com

[n3bulous]

Title: Asian American X: An Intersection of Twenty-First Century Asian American Voices (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0472068741/qid=1135848076/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0041220-3848769?n=507846&s=books&v=glance)
Editors: Arar Han and John Hsu

Collection of anectdotes submitted by college students sharing their experiences growing up/being Asian in America. Good read.

4/5

[robotic]

The Lost Cause by Udara Soysa

http://www.takingitglobal.org/images/connections/tigblogs/entryphotos/31660.jpg

request your copy here! (http://udara2004.tigblog.org/)

subject matter: peace, conflict, identity

synposis:

What is the distance between dream and nightmare?

Sri Lankan born, Canadian bred James shared a dream with most adopted children – finding his biological parents. The Killer wave which devastated Sri Lanka on Boxing Day of 2004 gave James the impetus and the opportunity to finally embark on his quest for identity.

Long before nature turned against her, Sri Lanka, land of Serendipity, had turned against herself. Her own quest for identity had led her into a hell where neighbour attacked neighbour and brother killed brother.

The search for his roots led James to Batticaloa, in Eastern Sri Lanka, once famed for its singing fish, but today made synonymous with death and destruction by man's inhumanity and nature's ferocity. What he did not know was that forces beyond his control or understanding - the ethnic conflict, the Karuna Rebellion and the Tigers' practice of child conscription - have already determined the final destination of his journey and his own destiny.

In Batticaloa the fishes are singing a song of mourning….

[gau dog]

Five Star Banquet
by James Mar
A 60 page book with a variety of Chinese American comic strips.
http://www.comixpress.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_33&products_id=161

Golden Dreams
by James Mar
Another 60 page book with a variety of Chinese American comic strips.
http://www.comixpress.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_33&products_id=428

some samples:
www.jamesmarstudio.com

[TB4000]

Book I'm reading now. Very observant.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/075821295X.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V1136930351_.jpg

[n3bulous]

I've only read a couple of these from this list, but there's like a whole assload of aa books here.

Association for Asian American Studies Book Awards:
http://www.aaastudies.org/bw.tpl

Dayam that's a lot of reading.

[capacitor276]

You guys have no idea what a relief it is to see recommendations for Asian reading that are NOT written by Pearl S. Buck... *ahem*College bookclub*cough*

[Golden Monkey]

Book I'm reading now. Very observant.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/075821295X.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V1136930351_.jpg

Any Asian content? Or is pretty much just the usual cliches about awkward and prejudiced White folks.