Asian-American Books

As the sister book of Professor Ling's 2004 book, Chinese St Louis - From Enclave to Cultural Community, this one is the family album of Chinese-American residents with hundred of pictures in six chapters, each with a page orientation after the introduction. She did a good job in researching the first Chinese settler and Hop Alley in Downtown St Louis till 1966 when Busch Stadium replaced this landscape with the progressive development of laundry and restaurant to highly educated professionals integrated into the main stream society in a cultural community.

Dr. Ling personalizes the face and voice to the Chinese St Louis who may not be able to do so especially in the early years of bias and discrimination. This book is a respectful and grateful acknowledgment of this legacy of courage, struggle and success in a meaningful 150 years commemoration of the pioneer Alla Lee, the first Chinese in St Louis and subsequent Chinese American settlers. This is a welcome invitation to the city - Meet me in Chinese St Louis.

From The Foreword:

... What is remarkable is the combination of this historical perspective with his social psychological descriptions and analyses of laundrymen and their descendants. The personal life stories, with their inner thought,feeling, values, attitudes, work experiences and survival hardships, are skillfully presented with penetrating insights and observations. These perspectives present an overall picture of the history and the life and work of the laundrymen. From the late l9th century to the first half of the 20th century, Chinese laundries dotted the urban economic landscape of North America. The Chinese laundrymen were so prevalent that it might seem that they were genetically wired for this occupation. Even in insane asylums, the Chinese were asked to do laundry work. Laundry work was mentally, psychologically and physically demanding. One laundryman once told me that he washed his laundry with tears and that if he had known that laundry work was a lifetime of hardship and suffering, he would not have come to the Gold Mountain. However, despite all these difficulties with racial discrimination, hostility, violence and legal exclusion, they survived and prospered. Nowadays, many of their children are successful members of their communities, making valuable contributions to society. The laundrymen left a legacy of hard work, endurance, tolerance and an indomitable spirit to excel in life and work. This legacy is now commonly accepted by all Chinese immigrants and their descendants as a significant part of their enduring heritage, one they can cherish and promote. As a Chinese saying goes, "To be able to taste the bitter of the bitter, then you will be a step higher than the others." Professor Jung's seminal works have ably presented and preserved an important part of this heritage not only for the Chinese but for all Americans.

BanSeng Hoe, Ph.D.
Curator of Asian Studies, Canadian Museum of Civilization
Past Visiting Professor of Ethnology and Chinese Studies
Peking University

Chinese Laundries: Tickets to Survival on Gold Mountain is another important window into the history of the early Chinese immigrants to North America, one that transcends all regions. The tracing of the trail of Chinese migration into America's heartland and the Deep South as many entered the laundry business sheds light on their complex and difficult journey. The coverage of the virulent anti-Chinese sentiments in large cities as well as small hamlets exposes the hostility they had to overcome. The laundrymen faced struggles, challenges, and even disappointments; yet, the Chinese laundry became a valued and necessary enterprise in countless communities for several decades.

Sylvia Sun Minnick, Author,
SamFow: The San Joaquin Chinese Legacy and Stockton's Chinese Community

Professor Jung's book has made a significant contribution to the history of Chinese laundries in America. The story is best told by someone like Jung who experienced a `laundry life,' and understands its psychological impact on the Chinese laundrymen and their families. It is hard to imagine the difficulties that the laundrymen encountered in making a living in a harsh and hostile environment. Bachelor laundrymen, like those with families back in China, suffered lonely lives. Those who had families with them worked hard to ensure that their children would have advantages that the laundrymen could never attain here.

Murray K. Lee, Curator of Chinese American History, San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, and the son of a Chinese laundryman and restaurateur

A masterwork of definitive scholarship and heartfelt composition on this singularly important subject. Jung's own life in one such historic family business lends unique insight to a topic often cited but little explored until now. An academically solid effort that is much enhanced by several personal narratives from other "Children of the Laundries." This rewarding study of an era marked by invention born of dire necessity, an unforgiving host society that demanded Chinese laundrymen's services but then punished them for being too good at it, is a long overdue analysis of a familiar experience hidden in plain sight.

Mel Brown, Author,
Chinese Heart of Texas, The San Antonio Chinese Community, 1875-1975

Jung's book on Chinese laundries is a welcome contribution to Chinese American studies that depicts the plight of early generations of Chinese caught in the predicament of operating laundries to provide for their families, either in China or in America, while enduring extreme hardship and loneliness in one of the few occupations open to them until the end of World War II in the U. S. and Canada due to racism. It vividly portrays the lives of Chinese laundrymen with the inclusion of historic documents, photographs, newspaper article excerpts, and revealing personal stories and insider observations from a few of the many who, like the author, grew up and worked in their family laundries. The subject deserves attention and further exploration in view of the significant impact that the laundry had not only on the Chinese American experience, but also in the social and cultural histories of the U.S. and Canada.

Joan S. Wang, Professor of History, National Taiwan Normal University, Author, Race, Gender, and Laundry Work: The Roles of Chinese Laundrymen and American Women in the United States, 1850-1950, Journal of American Ethnic History,

This is a remarkable book. It offers a comprehensive historical study of the Chinese laundries in the United States, a profound analysis of the psychological experiences of the Chinese laundrymen in America and their families in China; and above all, written by someone who has intimate experiences with the Chinese laundry, it is a tribute to those Chinese immigrants whose labor and sacrifice laid the foundation of the Chinese American community, and a testimony of the Chinese laundrymen's resilience, resourcefulness, and humanity.

Renqiu Yu, Director, Professor of History, Asian Studies Program, Purchase College - SUNY, Author, To Save China, To Save Ourselves, The Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance of New York

The Princeton series has been well-regarded and justly deserves it. The lessons rapidly progress to colloquial Mandarin, and the red book gives in-depth explanations and examples. Each lesson has many new expressions. They are generally real-life conversations, but the authors have made an effort to make them at least a little humorous and not too dry. The 2007 edition seems to be improved over the earlier (1994?) edition with real typeset fonts instead of typewriter Courier and a better index. The content however is much the same. Besides this red/blue/yellow book group, you should definitely get the green book for the character text (why is it sold separately?) and the video series in which the dialogs are acted out (the audio is the most important, the video part adds some amusement). But not all is perfect: it would be nice if the answers were provided for the exercises in the red book and the practice sentences in the yellow book. Maybe they're in a teacher's edition (but of course teachers don't need it!) Otherwise, this series is quite excellent.

Please be sure as to which version of this book you would like. There is both GR and Pinyin, which are very different. This one is GR, but in great condition.

The collaborative production of Vibeke Bordahl (Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Copenhagen) and photographer and Chinese culture expert Jette Ross (1936-2001), Chinese Storytellers: Life And Art In The Yangzhou Tradition is a remarkable and informative study of the ancient Chinese art form of narrating classic stories. A survey of the history of this practice, as handed down from master to student, precedes several adventurous and vivid tales, each presented both in English and in the original Chinese. Black-and-white photographs offer a visual glimpse of the storyteller's gestures and poses, and an accompanying VCD gives a glimpse of the full experience of a master storyteller's craft. Chinese Storytellers is a unique and highly recommended addition to Chinese Culture Studies collections and supplemental reading lists.

Endorsements from the back cover:

"Civilizing the Margins is an indispensable guide to minority policy and practice throughout Southeast Asia. It offers a cohesive theme, a splendid introduction and overview, and contributions both subtle and original that reach far beyond the usual platitudes. Judging from the quality, one may look forward with anticipation and great confidence to the future work of the many newly-minted scholars represented here."--James C. Scott, Sterling Professor of Political Science and Anthropology, Yale University


"For insight into why governments in Southeast Asia want to modernize and `civilize' potentially autonomous indigenous populations in their midst, and why the policies they adopt cause those populations to become more vulnerable and marginalized, I am confident that no better book is available than Civilizing the Margins. Detailed and informative, it is a timely and valuable contribution to understanding the politics of indigenous development in Southeast Asia."--Colin Nicholas, Ph.D., Coordinator, Center for Orang Asli Concerns, Malaysia

Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, Prof. LaFeber offers the finest single-volume history of U.S.-Japanese relations to appear in recent years. Taking as his starting point the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry in Edo Bay in 1853, Prof. Lafeber explains the close -- and occasionally stormy -- relationship between the United States and Japan over the past 150 years. Although the interests of the two nations are often aligned, Prof. LaFeber suggests that this alignment is not inevitable. Instead, the continued friendship between the two nations relies upon an understanding of our shared history -- and an appreciation of China's place in that history. Only by studying the history of the U.S.-Japan-China triangle can U.S. foreign policymakers formulate a comprehensive strategy for the Pacific in the 21st century. "The Clash" is an absolute must-read for those who wish to participate in the debate over U.S. interests in the Pacific.

This book is wonderful and kids will be fascinated by the story as wll as the colorful and vivid illustrations.
Great choice!!

Closing the Shop: Information Cartels and Japan's Mass Media. By Laurie Anne Freeman. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. 256 pp.

This excellent book lays bare the mechanisms of the information cartels in Japan that prop up the State, insulate the elite from sustained critical oversight and rob the polity of the journalistic integrity necessary for the maintenance of democracy. This is a daunting agenda and it is a tribute to the author that she carries it off and in the process makes a significant contribution to our understanding of contemporary Japan. Readers will certainly cast a more scrutinizing and skeptical eye towards the pabulum served up by the mass media after learning about how sources co-opt journalists and how the business of media has undermined the practice of journalism.

The transformation of the media into co-conspirators in the dumbing down of public debate and stifling independent thinking is a powerful indictment and here it is persuasively argued.This searing expose should also be taken to heart in regarding the media conglomerates that are now coming to dominate global media. One need only look as far as Time, Newsweek and the once venerable Far Eastern Economic Review to see how far standards have slipped and how the media is leading the race to the bottom. These famous name brands have been gutted and dumbed down so relentlessly that they bear even less resemblance to journalism than lite beer does to the original. At least they are less filling, often reading like corporate newsletters as they vie for "scoops" about computer games and run puff stories that will attract corporate advertising. It is lamentable that journalists have been brought to heel by the bean counters, and professional journalism everywhere is in retreat as a consequence of the business of journalism. Closing the Shop demonstrates why it is important for the public to be more vigilant about the media, but stops short of offering strategies for tackling this threat to democracy and accountability. The other quibble I have with this outstanding book is the author's reticence on the subject of the IT revolution and how this may affect the media cartels. Can the Web help weaken the power of traditional media cartels or will they also come to dominate

Colonial medicine has been a major issue of debate in social science these years. One reason for that is the emergence of globalization that elevates previous colonies to the focus of attention because of their roles in the global system of production and their peculiar political configurations. No longer subliminal, these ex-colonies however pose intriguing but difficult questions regarding various aspects of (post-)modernity. How did they deal with the so-called colonial legacy? How did the modernity defined in "the West" mean to them? What insights can we get by looking at the disciplinary process that the colonized people embraced, or worse, endured? Or, for this book, what is the relations between the medical and public health measures in colony and those in metropolis?
It is easy for studies of this kind to fall back into either a progressivist eurocentric argument (such as Basalla's diffusionism) or a normative pluralistic claim. The former refers to a pattern of diffusion of knowledge from the center (read Europe) to the periphery (the rest of the world); the latter means that we need to appreciate the achievements not only in the center but also in the periphery. But Anderson pushes the claim further. He challenges the logic of the center/periphery division and argues that in fact, the center of colonial force may be the periphery of knowledge production. The conceptual hierarachy is shaken and replaced with a more reciprocally dynamic and interactive notion. Think about the medical knowledge that was obtained in the Philippines but was later applied in America.
Aside from this theoretical breakthrough, his account gives vivid evidence to some other arguments already made by other authors--modernity as a disciplinary and biopolitical process which aims not only at achieving social order but also at reshaping individual body and mind. In addition, his attention to (and discussion on) tropical neurasthenia is splendid because this topic is often left out in other colonial medicine studies.
In brief, I think this book is a must read in colonial medicine studies. Even though there are some concepts, like biomedical citizenship, that still need more substantiating examples, globally speaking this is a wonderflly written and well organized piece of work.