Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People: Helen Zia: 9780374527365: Amazon.com: Books

Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People: Helen Zia: 9780374527365: Amazon.com: Books



Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People 1st Edition

by Helen Zia  (Author)

4.0 out of 5 stars    34 customer reviews

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The fascinating story of the rise of Asian Americans as a politically and socially influential racial group





This groundbreaking book is about the transformation of Asian Americans from a few small, disconnected, and largely invisible ethnic groups into a self-identified racial group that is influencing every aspect of American society. It explores the junctures that shocked Asian Americans into motion and shaped a new consciousness, including the murder of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American, by two white autoworkers who believed he was Japanese; the apartheid-like working conditions of Filipinos in the Alaska canneries; the boycott of Korean American greengrocers in Brooklyn; the Los Angeles riots; and the casting of non-Asians in the Broadway musical Miss Saigon. The book also examines the rampant stereotypes of Asian Americans.



Helen Zia, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, was born in the 1950s when there were only 150,000 Chinese Americans in the entire country, and she writes as a personal witness to the dramatic changes involving Asian Americans.



Written for both Asian Americans -- the fastest-growing population in the United States -- and non-Asians, Asian American Dreams argues that America can no longer afford to ignore these emergent, vital, and singular American people.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While growing up in New Jersey in the 1950s and '60s, Zia was provided with plenty of American history by her teachers, while her father inundated her with stories of China's past. Yet she was left wondering about people like herself, Asian Americans, who seemed to be "MIH--Missing in History." In this ambitious and richly detailed account of the formation of the Asian-American community--which extends from the first major wave of immigration to Gold Mountain" (as the Chinese dubbed America during the gold rush) to the recent influx of Southeast Asians, who since 1975 have nearly doubled the Asian-American population--Zia fills those absences, while examining the complex origins of the events she relates. The result is a vivid personal and national history, in which Zia guides us through a range of recent flash points that have galvanized the Asian-American community. Among them are the brutal, racially motivated murder of Vincent Chin in Detroit in 1982; the devastating riots in Los Angeles in 1992, where almost half of the $1 billion in damages to the city were sustained by Korean-American shop owners; and the embattled South Asian New York City cab drivers who, in May of 1998, banded together with the New York Taxi Workers alliance and pulled off a citywide strike. The recent boom in the Asian-American population (from half a million in the 1950s to 7.3 million in 1990), coupled with Zia's fresh perspective, makes it unlikely that their stories will go missing again. (Mar.)

Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



From Library Journal

Asian Americans have only recently emerged as a cohesive, self-identified racial group. Now, award-winning Asian American journalist Zia traces the changing politics and cultures of this significant but disjointed group of people by examining the incidents that helped galvanize them. Drawing on both family stories and public events (everything from the Vincent Chin affair to the boycott of Korean American--owned stores in Brooklyn) Zia surveys the history of Asian Americans, the rapid development of their new political force, and the unique issues they face. This well-written book is an important addition to the growing field of Asian American studies. Recommended for public and academic libraries.

-Mee-Len Hom, Hunter Coll. Lib., New York

Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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5.0 out of 5 starsIntriguing perspective into Asian Americans' lives

ByElisha Jung Hwa Yangon June 15, 2010

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I came across this book because I was writing a final paper for a Rhetoric class and had to write on the subject of interracial marriage. As an American-born Asian and second generation, I took the stand for pro-interratial marriage and relationships. However while reading this book, I learned a lot of key events that have occurred in the United States over the last couple decades that helped me understand more deeply about why my parents are so traditional while my aunts and uncles in South Korea are so modern, and why they are so protective all the time. Major themes in the book were youth being in limbo trying to identify with a new culture vs. holding on to an old one. What Helen Zia says we should all be doing is sharing all cultures. We don't have to lose one to gain one. We can be p-----

5.0 out of 5 starsWhere are you from?

ByE.Rowon November 20, 2002

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I remember as a young child, other kids would ask me, "Where are you from?" Even though I was a native U.S. citizen, I would answer "Korea" without even thinking about it. Their response would be a blank stare and a "Where?" They all knew China, and even Japan, but rarely Korea. I grew up thinking that I was from a place that no one knew existed. Now when people ask me, "Where are you from?" I answer "Los Angeles," and I receive the response, "You know what I mean. Really, where are you from?" This question has plagued me throughout my life. People assume I cannot simply be an American - I must be a foreigner.

What Helen Zia has done is taken this universal experience among Asian Americans and transformed it into a quest to learn what it means to be Asian and American. She examines pivotal points in Asian American history and acknowledges racism, but also examines what Asian Americans must do as a whole to become seen as "American" and not as a "gook" or a "chink." As a college student who's done a little bit of research on Asian Americans, it enlightened me on my responsibilites to make my voice heard and also educated me on the history of the Asian American Civil Rights Movement - something that didn't even exist 60 years ago.

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5.0 out of 5 starsFantastic Book

ByFrancisco Hernandezon May 4, 2011

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Here is a wonderful author who is not afraid to express her views and opinions on what happened in the Asian American Diaspora. She is a skilled writer who engages the reader with ease and makes you want to continue reading. Not only was she the author of this book, but Helen Zia also participated in many of the protests engaged during the Civil Rights Movement. It wasn't just the Black Power movement that made the Civil Rights. It was the combination of coalitions created by all colored and white groups fighting for the same demands of equality, education, prosperity, liberty, and happiness. In Asian American Dreams, she puts into focus certain mind-shaping events that helped propel the Asian American movement during the late 60's and 70's. A must read for any person wishing to understand the Asian involvement in Civil Rights.

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5.0 out of 5 starsIt's a good schoolbook

ByJonathan Snoekon September 21, 2013

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I've read two chapters so far and there is so much food for thought about justice issues. I think it's helpful in thinking about national solidarity with migrant workers and taxi cab drivers.

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4.0 out of 5 starsEnlightening book bought on Amazon

ByChristine M. Slatteryon February 12, 2012

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This book was very well written and enjoyable. It was bought for a class at Northwestern University, but proved to be more than just another book to read. It showed a part of the Asian culture that is rarely understood by the rest of American culture. I would recommend it.

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5.0 out of 5 starsRequired Reading for All Asian Americans and Americans Alike

ByJ. Nguyenon April 20, 2000

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A strong contribution to the current scholarship on APIs and issues of civil rights and identity. Through the use of personal anecdotes and civil rights case studies, sends a clear message for a call to action. It encapsulates all of the previous knowledge that I have acquired about our historical pattern of discrimination and how we are viewed by mainstream American into one comprehensive work.

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5.0 out of 5 starsBest of the best!

ByA customeron March 29, 2000

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Helen Zia's book is a must read for all Americans -- Asian or non-Asian. What I like most about the book is simply how wonderfully it is written. It is a pure joy to read. Her account of the Vincent Chin murder and the aftermath is particularly well done; it made me feel like I was there. "Asian American Dreams" is the foremost chronicle of the Asian American scene today, and Ms. Zia is the James Baldwin/Cornell West of Asian American writers.

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5.0 out of 5 starsStories to the Asian American modern era

ByL. Poonon October 9, 2013

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I love the stories of Asian Americans, it has extraordinary details, and it express dreams. I recommend this good book.