Asian-American Books

This book grips the heart and pulls on all the strings. It brings out the Filipino experience for the "Manongs" as no other book that I have read. This collection of short stories, essays, poems, and correspondance lets Carlos Bulosan bring out the total message. A must have book

This reading should be considered one of Filipino-America's (and Asian America's) best literary works as of yet. There is no other writer prior to the cliche' "Amy Tan-esque" era that has made a lasting impact on American literature. The novel is (r)evolutionary in its attempt to educate generations of literature afficionados. What better way to pay tribute to equal rights activists than Bulosan's magnum opus? Bulosan is the next Walt Whitman and then some, beginning with his incipient stages in rural Pangasinan province, to his voyage to America and initiation into manhood and the adventures in between. He is Walt Whitman's echo, fervent, passionate, honest - speaking for all humankind, and fighting for the rights of 1930s struggling working class of Filipinos, Mexicans, Native Americans, African-Americans, and Asians.

Powerful works. Bulosan is poetic, honest and down-to-earth, and very vivid and lyrical in his descriptions of the atrocities he suffered as a Filipino living in America.

Lisa See's path to discover where and how she fits in in this gifted, and far from ordinary immigrant American family is as much your story as it is hers. Her writing is fresh and alive enough to hold your interest and make you want to hear more from and about this author. Her mother is Carolyn See, who has written a little about Lisa's history in her own book, Dreaming: Good Luck and Hard Times in America. Look over both books and be prepared to hunker down for a while.

Lisa See, in describing the journey of her family over one hundred years, also takes the reader on a literary journey. I have read many auto-biographical and semi-auto-biographical accounts of the Chinese diaspora and Lisa's book is amongst the best. We can read her book as an adventure and also as a history. A history about which she must be proud. This book has inspired me to write about my own family, who made a similar journey, over a hundred years ago, but in Australia

I wish I had read this book first. I read Lisa's Flower Net and enjoyed it so much that I looked to see what else she had written. Finding On Gold Mountain (thanks, Amazon) I became immersed in the life of the author and her family. I have read so many stories of Chinese families in Mainland China and Taiwan, but this is the first I have read of the Chinese American experience. It is doubly interesting because of the marriages between Chinese and Caucasians, and how they resolved their cultural differences during a time when China itself was undergoing so many cultural changes. I highly recomend the book for its content and for its excellent narrative style.

There is very little to add to M. Pitcavage's review above other than to recommend that this should be among the very first books read by anyone interested in Vietnam. While Professor Bartholomew-Feis' initial chapters appear to treat Ho Chi Minh as a "nationalist", she presents enough evidence from those who met him that they may judge for themselves. Particularly valuable are the evaluations from Chinese, American, and French sources noting Ho's exceptional charisma, and his unfailing ability to detect what his listeners wanted to hear, and tell them exactly that. And while she does appear to buy into the "French colonialism as unspeakable suffering" school of thought, I would have liked to see at least some statistics to paint a more accurate picture of what it was the French did or failed to do in developing Indochina up until 1940. Likewise, she repeatedly refers to "100 years of colonialism", when in fact it dated from 1864 in Cochinchina, 1884 in Annam (as a protectorate) and from 1884 (protectorate) 1886 (protectorate in highlands, colony in Red River Delta)in Tonkin.

A well-written account of the early years of US involvement with Ho Chi Minh in the second world war. It is a sad commentary on what might have been. Had the US not abandoned their ally to cruel colonialism, the US and Vietnam may never have suffered the long costly and unnecessary war they did. It seems an all too common tale of strange cold war bed-fellows and betrayel.

This book goes far to provide the background to the recent history of Vietnam and the United States. Ho Chi Minh is not portrayed as a saint but neither is French colonialism. In the portrayal, the nationalist rather than communist undercurrents of the Vietnam war are expounded and explained. A worthy addition to the history of twentieth century Vietnam-US relations.

The OSS and Ho Chi Minh, by Dixee Bartholomew-Feis, was an unexpected pleasure. Books written on the OSS or the British equivalent in World War II, SOE, so frequently fall headfirst into a muddy miasma of internal politics, blame and counter-blame, and a fixation on minutiae that they often obscure more than they illuminate. Thankfully, Bartholomew-Feis gives a well-written and lucid account of the OSS in Viet Nam on the cusp between war and peace in 1945. She steps neither into the "Ho was a nationalist and if only they had listened to the OSS then the Vietnam war never would have happened" camp nor into the "Those naive fools helped Ho get to power and brought communism to Southeast Asia" camp, for which every reader should be grateful.

At first, her book gives one pause. She starts off with dual mini-biographies of Ho Chi Minh and F.D.R. and one wonders where on earth she will go with those. However, once she actually gets from contextual background to Vietnam itself, and begins to display the depth of her research and understanding, the book is on much firmer footing. The OSS encountered the Viet Minh in an intelligence-gathering context, so she focuses first on the intelligence networks in Vietnam and how the Allies used them (introducing the reader to a fascinating "free-lance" intelligence network that gave intel to the British, US and Chinese), then shows how the OSS gradually was introduced into this intelligence context. In the process, she illuminates the tensions between the French in Vietnam and the Vietnamese Communists, between north and south Vietnam, and between the Japanese occupiers and both the French and Vietnamese.

Bartholomew-Feis does a good job describing the various OSS missions into Vietnam at the end of the war and the personalities behind them. What is perhaps most striking is how few, how young, and how junior most of these American personnel were, yet the great responsibilities they had in representing their country in matters relating from intelligence to strategy to policy and diplomacy. Almost as fascinating is how, virtually without exception, all of the Americans (conservative and liberal alike) were impressed with Ho Chi Minh, who must positively have oozed charisma. It is quite interesting to compare the personal relationships between the American OSS representatives and Ho and his close collaborators on one hand with the much more bitter, taxing, and dysfunction relations between the British and Tito (see Dedjier's diaries on his views of the British, for example) or the British and the Albanian communists or the British and the Greek communists. Perhaps the only real comparison is with Mao Zedong who managed to win over a bevy of Westerners from left-wing reporters like Edgar Snow and Agnes Smedley to Marine officers like Evans Carlson. In any case, it is quite interesting to see how genuinely friendly the Vietnamese were towards the Americans, more so than almost all of the other communist movements with which the OSS worked.

Bartholomew-Feis does write, rather often, of how the Vietnamese "manipulated" the Americans, yet some of the incidents of which she writes sound not so much as a deliberate underhanded manipulation so much as they seem a genuine (if perhaps temporary) convergence of interests. She is on firmer footing when she describes how the Vietminh used their rather tenuous official contacts with the United States as a way to gain status and legitimacy. The Vietminh were quite clever in that regard.

Overall, Bartholomew-Feis does an excellent job in covering a difficult and--given the fact that any book on this is heavily burdened with foreshadowing to begin with--sensitive subject. It would have been nice to have seen more use of Vietnamese sources but overall the book is well-researched and Bartholomew-Feis demonstrates a considerable grasp of her subject.

I have read scores of books on the OSS and SOE dealing with various resistance movements in World War II and I think this is definitely one of the better ones. Scholars and general readers interested in intelligence gathering during World War II, the origins of the Indochina War, Vietnamese nationalism, and the end of the Second World War will all be interested in this well-written study. I recommend it.

John Van Sant, a professor of Japanese History at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, has written an approachable and engaging look back at some of the very first Japanese travelers to the United States in the mid to late 1800s.

For the student of Asian-American History or Early Modern Asian Japanese History, Pacific Pioneers, is an invaluable reference that bridges the gap between the broad view of early Japan-U.S. interaction and the Japanese political reaction to it. Many of the popular books that deal with this area of history are concerned with its larger events such as the Perry and Iwakura Missions.

Van Sant's book is about individuals who came to a foreign land, and were instrumental in defining how the Western world viewed a recently opened island nation. Van Sant's scholarship is through and compiles a great deal of information that is often lost in the larger events of the period. Even those who aren't interested in Asian or Asian-American History can appreciate the people Van Sant has researched for their sense of wonder and discovery as some of the first to leave their homeland, which was closed off to nearly all foreign intercourse for over 200 years.

I find the book especially engaging because it examines how Americans reacted to their foreign visitors during a time when man of today's stereotypes about the Japanese culture had not been developed. Also, by examining the way in which the New World was viewed by the Japanese visitors, the reader can see how foreigners reacted to the Western world and found their culture to be exotic, captivating, and at times, frightening. The book is a revealing and honest look at how different cultures are viewed by people that were truly foreign to them.

A book I recommend for anyone who is interested in history on a very personal and revealing level.

This is a truly absorbing read. Author John Van Sant casts light on a little-explored corner of American history about which, I'm willing to bet, few readers have any knowledge at all. Some may be vaguely aware that a handful of shipwrecked Japanese sailors fetched up on American shores in the first half of the nineteenth century or that large Japanese embassies toured this country in 1860 and 1871-72. But how many know that scores of Japanese students were living in such an unlikely place as New Brunswick, New Jersey in the late 1860s and 1870s, studying about American institutions as well as "big guns" and "big ships." Or that several young Japanese aristocrats--including a later titan of Meiji Japan--were holed up in a utopian commune, under the watchful eye of an eccentric guru, doing housework and tending grapevines? Or that other countrymen and women of less elevated status, fleeing worsening economic conditions back home, were scraping out a bare living in Hawaii and northern California?

In clear economic prose, thankfully free of academic jargon, Van Sant explores each of these expatriate communities in some depth. (Oddly enough, the author makes no mention whatsoever of the troupes of Japanese entertainers criss-crossing the country during this same period. Even Mark Twain complained bitterly in 1867 about having to compete with a company of Japanese acrobats for an audience.) He also does the historical record a considerable service by freeing some of these pioneers--the "mysterious" Wakamatsu Colony of Gold Hill, California being a prime example--from an encrustation of myth. If I have any quibble at all with Pacific Pioneers, it is that it is too short. Highly recommended!

I think that Dr Van Sant tells a compelling tale of the first wave of Japanese settlers who came to the United States and Hawaii. This book is for anybody who is interested in Asian American History. It should be the first book cracked open for any student who signs up to take any Asian studies class, either in the undergraduate or post-graduate world. I loved it.

This is a great, basic pasta book. the recipe for pesto alla genovese is classic, easy and delicious.

My husband is the designated cook in our family and I am a very picky eater. I chop the ingredients and he cooks them and most dinners are prepared quickly. There isn't one dish in this book that I don't like and left-overs re-heat well. Most of the dishes remind us of something we could order in the expensive Italian restaurant in our town!

This is my bible for pasta recipes. Not one is bad. Most ingredients called for are found in large chain grocery stores or can easily be substituted without changing the quality of the dish. For example where flat-leaf parsley is called for, any parsley will do. Where scallops are called for, try chicken. You can't go wrong.

The best part of the book is for those who are patience impared. The chapter on 20 MINUTE pasta dishes will serve up quick and very delicious meals or side dishes.

Enjoy!

.. A sad fact about an ethnic group that has served other Nations with distinction whenever it was called upon. While a lot of this information in caroe's book is not as relevant as it used to be, it remains the best English book on Pashtuns. For a more contemporary book I recommend read Spain's The Pathans of the latter day.

I bought this book in hopes of learning about the nature of Pathan history and its roots... I must say this book was a sheer delight although a little heavy on history... It is not for the casual reader. However if you seek to get a good knowledge of Pathan history.. then this is the book.. For some, the historical essence of this books might be somewhat compromised by the romantic overtones of the writer towards the pathans however for me it was an added delight since it comfirmed to me the involvement of the writer with the subjects of his chosen topic. Overall, if are a serious reader than this is the book for you.

This book is an extremely useful work for historical reference, probably the only one in its category extant. It can be regarded as the magnum opus of its subject. The main merit of the book lies in the fact that its presents a detailed genealogical history, as well as a narrative of the area, its places, language and dialects, and culture of this race - with valuable first hand background information by a scholarly author who was also the top colonial administrator of this area, having reached that position after a long record of lesser tier appointments and experience in the same place. And nobody then or since, has attempted another such work in any language concerning this crucial and extremely troublesome race, whose region is now a crucible of turbulence. One of the book's chief drawbacks is that it dates to the time period of 50-60 years ago, and given the nature of 20th century developments, not just "water" alone but a whole ocean has flowed under the bridge since then, to modify the cliche realistically. Also the narrative of its writer is heavily tinted with his own maudlin emotional sentiments and rose tinted romanticism--and he has acknowledged these feelings openly while describing to the reader the nature of his book in the preface--therefore this aspect of the book robs it of any credibility in presenting the reader with the actual picture as it obtains on the ground, especially nowadays. After all, analysing a society doesn't wholly depend on facts and figures concerning what its inhabitants eat or wear, or the group its language belongs to. Even emotional involvements must be seen as to whether they are deluded or appropriate. So, as a reviewer, let me take up on the subject of this book where its British imperialist officer, yet somewhat giggolo-like author, fails. The Pathans are perhaps the most criminal society on the face of the planet nowadays and have been for since long. The people are extremely proud and boastful about their negative "dangerous" qualities, extremely jealous, grasping and malintentioned, bellicose and vindictive and can nurse the pettiest of slights and grudges for years, ending in explosive results. When the British ruled here for a century, there was a semblance of order and justice, but after 1947 the area quickly started reverting to its protean tribal lawlessness, and following the Afghan revolutionary upheavals of 1978 the reversion was complete, if not more intense than ever before. Government exists here only as a verneer on paper; even that is made up of the obsolete rules the British colonialists had drawn up. Those "elders" in power and authority are bandits and things get done through favour and patronage and contacts. Nobody is ashamed of this. For a Pathan, its "normal living". Drugs and smuggling make up their economy, robbing the state treasury makes up their top officials' salaries and no taxes are paid. Of course, when the top dogs indulge themselves thus, everybody else feels they have a right to do the same, here... There is no public or civic life, and one's safety and survival are dependent on the jungle law, survival of the fittest (or the cunning). Public works suffer for lack of money or planning. "Justice" is meted out by informal gatherings of toughs and "social influentials" known as "jirgas". Thus the place is rundown and ramshackle like an American frontier town's scenario from the 19th century Wild West, where rude, boorish macho tribesmen rule the day. It is the home base of the Taliban and Islamic extremist terrorism. Here the only women you can be relaxed with are your mother and sisters. Sex is only "permissible" in marriage, and for that you have to send a party of relatives over to a person's house to choose and "reserve" his daughter for you. If a man tries meeting a "stranger" female normally, he and the woman risk getting shot dead by her father/brother(s)/cousin(s) for violating their family's "honour". (Women here, you see, are objects of honour for their tribe and family. They are there only to be given or sold to husbands at their males' liking. With due apologies to gays, Pathan men are normally bisexual, and society doesn't bat an eyelid about it). The police treats such killings as "honour killing" between the two parties involved, and leaves it to a "jirgah" to mete "justice", usually settled by payment of blood money or yet another forced marriage, known as "swarrah". Of course in reality, Pathan women are among the most oversexed and "hottest", but all liaisions are strictly "underground". I was born a Pathan - from Charsadda district - and because of various constraints am still living here. But in spirit, I'm a normal human being, not a Pathan. In short, this is a society beyond redemption. The Pathan spirit refuses to change in any aspect. And they try to prevent others from doing so to, who want to change. This society truly merits the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) to wipe it cleanly and efficiently off the face of the earth as a sevice to the ideals of normal, modern civilisation. And I think one day in the near future, responsible leaders will be forced to take that path out of dire necessity. But at the moment, this evil blot on the globe continues to exist just because America and the West support it, and don't give a damn about how bad its people are. Anyone who is "proud" of, or likes such a society or situation - needs to be stood to a wall and shot.

So little information is available about artist Paul Horiuchi that this book by Barbara Johns is a real treasure. I particularly enjoyed the biographical material and look forward to visiting the museum in LaConner, WA. so that I can see the Horiuchi collages displayed there.

Book came on time as ordered; no problem. The even better news is that it confirmed that a painting I bought at an auction 20 years ago, really is a signed Horiuchi watercolor!

A captivating account of Paul Horiuchi's life and art. This gifted and devoted talent was a shining star in the golden era of Northwest modern art, merging Oriental and Occidental components to create rich and unique forms. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the art of America's Pacific Northwest.

A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, by Amy Lee-Tai and illustrated by Felicia Hoshino, takes place in an internment camp in the U.S. Mari is homesick thinking about memories before she came to the internment camp. Mari and Mama planted sunflower seeds. Mari asked Mama if the sunflowers will grow high, powerful and lovely. "It will take time patience and care," Mama answered nicely.

The next day Papa walked with Mari to Topaz School. Papa asked Mari "Why don't you giggle and speak any more?" When art class started, Mari couldn't think what to draw and when art class finished, Mari's paper was still blank. The next day when Mari went back to Topaz Mrs. Hanamoto said to draw something from before you came here but Mari still couldn't think something so she drew her old backyard. Mama and Papa were worried about Mari. Mari-chan didn't want to talk about it.
The next few days Mari was improving with her art and the walls were filled up with pictures. When Mari and Aiko were walking home together a big blizzard of dust storm went on to Aiko and Mari's skin. It was hard to walk but they tried and tried. When they reached to Mari's barrack they slammed the door immediately. They were coughing and were trying to get some air. The next few days Aiko-chan saw the sunflowers. Aiko called "Mari-chan!" She went running and looked at the sunflowers too and little tiny plants with little green leaves were growing. Mama, Mari, Aiko, and Mari's brother were happy.

This book teaches you that if you are in a scary place, your loved ones will still be there and it makes it less scary for you. Mari and her family had to go to the internment camp because of the World War Two and their things were taken away. A part when it was scary was when Mari and Papa were walking together to Topaz school and men were pointing guns at them. A part when it was happy was when Aiko and Mari were trying to walk through the dust storm and when Mari and Aiko reached Mari's barrack. They were coughing and laughing so Mari felt happy to have a new friend. Another part when Mari is happy is when Aiko saw the sunflowers and Aiko called Mari. When Mari saw the little green leaves she was really happy. I like the way when Mari is shy she still shows who she is to her teacher and her family.

By Boonevie

Amy Lee-Tai's award-winner, A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, is a striking departure from typical picture books. Through the story of little Mari, who cannot understand why her family had to leave their home, young readers are given a poignant glimpse of life in a U.S. Japanese American internment camp during World War II. When Mari finds she cannot draw even a single picture in art class, her teacher suggests that she draw something that made her happy before her family was forced to move to the camp. Reflecting upon the home she had to leave behind, Mari colors a picture of the back yard where she and her brother played on the swing their Papa built, and where the garden was filled with flowers. Sharing her picture with a classmate, Aiko, opens a friendship that blossoms along with the sunflowers Mari planted weeks before. Felicia Hoshino's illustrations are a perfect complement to the story, capturing not only the innocence of childhood, but the harshness of the dreaded camp. Amy Lee-Tai drew upon the experience of her own family in writing A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, sharing with readers the little known realities of this sad and shameful chapter in American history. This bilingual book features text in both English and Japanese. For children six and older, A Place Where Sunflowers Grow should be available in both school and public libraries.

A lovely bilingual picturebook (English/Japanese), A Place Where Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee-Tai features illustrations from Felicia Hoshino and is the intimate story of a young girl and her life among thousands of other Japanese American families interned by the government during World War II in the Topaz Relocation Center in Utah. Deftly contributing to a historically ill state of America and their world, A Place Where Sunflowers Grow follows Mari through the beginning of her art classes during the heat of the summer, her discovery of life, her newly found passion for art, and the use of her art to cope with the harsh circumstances of her family's confinement. Inspired by the author's personal life and family history, A Place Where Sunflowers Grow is very highly recommended for all young readers ages 6 to 10, as well school and community librarians seeking to augment their bilingual picturebook collections.

"Preaching the Presence of God should probably be on the bibliography of every course on preaching in North American theological education. It is masterly succinct. Not all textbooks are."
The Princeton Seminary Review, February 2002

"Preaching the Presence of God should probably be on the bibliography of every course on preaching in North American theological education. It is masterly succinct. Not all textbooks are."
The Princeton Seminary Review, February 2002

Eunjoo Mary Kim, a native of Korea, is assistant professor of preaching at Lliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, and has preached extensively in American and Asia. In Preaching The Presence Of God, she provides a much-needed resource of clear and thoughtful insights on Christian preaching from an Asian American perspective. Kim explores the distinctiveness of the Asian American congregation and spirituality, and then develops a theology of preaching that fully considers the uniqueness of this spirituality. Kim also provides sound perspectives on Asian American biblical interpretation, helpful sermon development and design, and a sample sermon. Preaching The Presence Of God is an invaluable, much appreciated, and highly recommended resource for anyone called upon to preach the Gospel to Asian, as well as Asian American congregations.

I met Rev. Ken Fong at Intervarsity's Urbana 2000. I was at all 4 of his large group Bible studies and also at his small lecture as well. His speaking ability is very well. He's an excellent oral communicator.
Now for the book. This book does a very slick job of addressing ministry issues along with cross cultural issues, too. If you've ever wondered A)How to minister to Asian Americans B)Why Asian churches are growing so fast or C)How to reach out to Asian Christians, then this book is for you. It will tell you everything you need to know on how to deal with these issues while also living within the western culture.
I must admit, I'm not Asian(I'm Irish, English and Native American of 2 tribes). But I worship and minister with and to Asian Americans here in Chicago. Books like this have been very helpful to me.

This is an essential landmark breakthrough long-overdue type of book that pioneers through the landscape of America, particularly among Asian Americans. In this climate that is increasingly pluralistic, diverse, and propelled by change, there are more and more Asian Americans that are untouched by the traditional model and stereotypical methods of doing church, and this book is willing to look beyond the past and the here and now, and into the postmodern landscape, anticipating with a prophetic voice, and sharing some real life stories of what is happening at his own church (Evergreen of LA). The book makes a great effort to work on both the theoretical and practical side, and those of us who are willing to work with the ethnic diversity at hand would do well to wrestle with the thoughts presented in this book.

The Asian and Pacific Islander population, is estimated to more than triple, from 10.9 million in 1999 to 37.6 million in 2050. Its percentage of the total population would rise from 4 percent now to 9 percent in 2050. It's time to get busy!

How do I reach for Christ the fastest growing ethnic group in America? How do I reach for Christ ANY person disaffected with the traditional American Church? Dr. Fong lucidly proposes radical principles for ministry that already bear fruit in his California church. He challenges us to color outside the lines as we face a new millenium and an American culture that looks nothing like the one on which we have built our traditional models for Christian ministry.

Stimulating reading. Excellent grasp of history, demographics and Biblical mandate.