The Chinese in America: A Narrative History

by Iris Chang

Hardcover, 2003

Status

Available

Publication

New York: Viking, 2003.

Description

Iris Chang, the daughter of second-wave Chinese immigrants, has written a narrative that encompasses the entire history of one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States, an epic story that spans 150 years and continues to the present day. Chang takes a fresh look at what it means to be an American and draws a complex portrait of the many accomplishments of the Chinese in their adopted country, from building the transcontinental railroad to major scientific and technological advances. A sensitive, deeply moving story of individuals whose lives have shaped and been shaped by this history, The Chinese in America is a saga of raw human tenacity and a testament to the determination of a people to forge an identity and destiny in a strange land.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member belleyang
Excellent. I had come to the United States in 1967, as a child, not realizing that only two year before my arrival was discrimination in immigration law signed away by Lyndon Johnson under the Hart-Celler Act. A must-read for all Chinese-Americans. Our ancestors suffered unbearable hardships so
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that we can stand on equal footing as full-fledged citizens of the United States. I mourned the day we lost Iris Chang.
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LibraryThing member Daumari
I'll write a more indepth review when I reread this- read it in 8th grade as part of my National History Day project research. It's a very in depth, very good look at, well, the history of Chinese immigrants in America. Despite being legally excluded from immigrating, waves still made it over-
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including my maternal grandfather under a paper name and my paternal great-grandparents to the midwest.
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LibraryThing member Ken-Me-Old-Mate
The Chinese in America by Iris Chang This book begins at the time of the California gold rush and also begins with the government bailing out Wall Street, I kid you not.
 
It details the Chinese migration to the land of gold and what really awaited the Chinese.
 
Things like it was illegal for a
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Chinese to give evidence against a white man in a court of law. I kid you not.
 
Like Chinese being forbidden to own property in America until immediately after WWII. I kid you not.
 
Well written and deeply fascinating, a testament to the tenacity of the Chinese and the grossly undervalued appreciation of their contribution to America.
 
Another side of American History that probably no-one wants to talk about. I kid you not.
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Language

Barcode

11088
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