Media Praise For The Chinese In America: A Narrative History
"Iris Chang skillfully weaves together the broad historical panorama of Chinese migration with fascinating case studies of individual Chinese immigrants and the lives they made for themselves in the United States. I know of no better introduction to this multilayered and emotionally charged story."
-- Jonathan D. Spence, Sterling Professor of History at Yale University and author of "The Search for Modern China."
"A major drama
Chang's book is crammed with telling stories not only from the mining camps and Chinatowns of America but from the Chinese villages and cities. Chang has found a great subject, and her stories are well worth reading."
-- Washington Post Book World.
"Tells the story thoroughly and with confidence
vital to our history. To understand who we are in the early 21st century one must know who we were and how we got here. Iris Chang's book tells one important part of the American story comprehensively."
-- Los Angeles Times.
"If you are hungry for the history of the American experience, The Chinese in America is a must read. We are fortunate to have the incomparable Iris Chang tell us this important and timely story."
-- James Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of "Flags of Our Fathers."
"In this outstanding study of the Chinese-American community, the author surpasses even the high level of her bestselling Rape of Nanking
Chang's even, nuanced and expertly researched narrative evinces deep admiration for Chinese America, with good reason."
-- Publishers Weekly.
"Thought-provoking...even the most knowledgeable Asian-American scholar will likely find little-known facts and challenging theories within. This is an exemplary achievement."
-- Christian Science Monitor.
"Iris Chang, a second-generation Chinese American historian and bestselling author of The Rape of Nanking, makes a convincing case in her engrossing new book, The Chinese in America, that throughout the 150 years of Chinese immigration to the United States, the full acceptance of Chinese Americans by the larger culture has been fleeting and illusory...the best antidote to such ignorance is reading Chang's absorbing, passionate story of the Chinese American experience."
-- San Francisco Chronicle.
"As a chronicle of the timeless battle for civil liberties, the book is high, panoramic drama...Chang has taken on an ambitious, almost thankless task in transcribing the 150-year history of a diverse immigrant population."
-- Sunday Oregonian.
"Commendable...thorough, important and devastating...effectively keeps a lot of hard truths in the reader's face, and in the process, new ground is broken for mainstream readers of American history."
-- Seattle Times.
"Well-researched...Chang's book is valuable for the mirror it holds up to the United States...Chang's timely book deserves to be read in homes and schools because it documents well the struggles of one ethnic group to win its rightful place alongside others. And it reminds us that we are capable of sliding backward, as we have since 9-11 regarding a different ethnic and religious segment of American society."
-- St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"Their history is as vast and varied as the land their labor helped unite, and Chang relays it superbly."
-- Book.
"Meticulously researched... the purpose of this work is to correct general misperceptions through many excellent examples [and] readers will find many surprising aspects of the Chinese American experiences in the United States. Because of its breadth and interesting details, this book is highly recommended for both public and academic libraries."
-- Library Journal.
"...a solid addition in a far-from-exhausted field."
-- Kirkus Reviews.
"Her most ambitious work to date. A writer of popular histories must walk a tightwire - it runs between what the public wants to read and what is beneficial for the public to read. Iris Chang moves along that wire with a ballerina's grace and the confidence of a heavy weight champion."
-- Asian Reporter.
"A proud and cautionary book."
-- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"We're in our sixth or seventh generation now and yet when we walk down the Main Street of America, people still view us as if we just got off the boat. We would never look at a black man walking down Main Street as a foreigner. We are very much defined by our skin color, and even our allegiance is defined by our skin color. To really help America understand, we need ... a lot of books like this."
-- Ling-Chi Wang, Professor of Asian-American Studies, University of California at Berkeley.
"A fascinating look back at what Chinese Americans have achieved, told through a voice that is both proud and perceptive."
-- International Examiner.
"[T]he tales are rich and the insights are deep
In the Chinese community, Iris is a champion and a warrior
History is made often by the acts of a few people - Iris has the makings of those few."
-- Jesse Hwa.
"A remarkable narrative
The author has skillfully compressed centuries of history, years of research and hundreds of interviews and conversations into an epic that flows effortlessly and sweeps the reader along for an informative, fascinating and emotional ride
This book is not just for Chinese Americans but also for all newly arrived immigrants and conscientious citizens that care to appreciate the deficiencies of the American democracy."
-- George Koo, Pacific News Service.
"Informative, thought-provoking and entertaining"
-- AsianWeek.
"One of the points that Iris makes in the book is that the history of Chinese Americans continually swings between these extremes - periods of great acceptance and periods where the perpetual foreigner image leads to injustice. It seems to me that's an incredibly invaluable insight at a point when simultaneously, some Chinese-Americans and Asian-Americans might be feeling complacent about our status here...and various other things which have the potential to demonize us and portray us as not really American."
-- David Henry Hwang, Tony-award-winning playwright of "M. Butterfly."
"Her writerly acumen is again in evidence in her latest book... This is history at its most dramatic and relevant, and the book deserves all the attention it undoubtedly will receive."
-- Booklist.
