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Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America
Author Michael Luo
Publisher Doubleday
Publication date April 29, 2025
Pages 560
ISBN 978-0-385-54857-1
Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America is a debut nonfiction book by New Yorker writer Michael Luo. The book traces the history of Chinese Americans from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. It was published by Doubleday on April 29, 2025.[1]
Background
In 2016, Luo wrote an open letter, in The New York Times, to a woman who had hurled a racist insult to Luo and his family on a street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.[2] The open letter then became viral on social media, after which Luo considered writing an entire book about the lineage of the Chinese in America. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Luo began working on Strangers in the Land while at the same time writing several pieces in The New Yorker about incidents of hate crimes against Asian Americans, such as the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings.[3][4]
Luo's research for the book required extensive investigation into archives wherein he found "various episodes known among historians but usually overlooked by the general public" such as a massacre in Los Angeles in 1871 which took the lives of 17 Chinese people, the Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark in 1898, the expulsion of Chinese residents from many neighborhoods across America, and many others.[3] Amid rising xenophobia against immigrant communities in the 2020s, Luo felt that it was imperative to understand "how fury about an entire people can spill over the way it did against Chinese immigrants at the end of the nineteenth century."[5]
An excerpt of the book, "When an American Town Massacred Its Chinese Immigrants," was published in The New Yorker on March 3, 2025.[6]
Critical reception
The book was considered a widely anticipated release of 2025 by Time and The New York Times.[7][8] Time later called the book one of the best releases of April 2025.[9]
In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews called the book "An estimable and vital work of history that honors the Chinese American experience" and said that any reader of American history, not just Chinese American history, would find a lot to appreciate in its pages.[10]
Steve Inskeep, writing for The New York Times, called the book a convincing account of Chinese migration and lauded the depth of Luo's "fascinating details" and "biographies of individuals—a range of quirky and fascinating figures, both Chinese and white, who drive the narrative." Inskeep found no weakness to the book other than the challenge of its breadth: "He offers us so many characters that it can be hard to keep track, but readers who do are rewarded with a view on the full complexity of American immigration."[11]
Bloomberg News called the book "a terrifying yet compelling narrative," a "deeply researched and heartbreaking rendition of blighted lives, crippled promises and murderous politics," and a revealing part of "an ugly and violent saga, suffuse with race hatred, gunfire and lynching, greed and cruelty—and the twisting of American ideals to win votes and sate bloodthirsty populist furies."[12]
Axios called the book "powerful and engaging" in its "story about Chinese Americans that isn't taught in schools," as well as identified Luo's book as a contribution to history in a manner like that of Ronald Takaki or Erika Lee's works.[3]
References
Luo, Michael (2025). Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-54857-1.
Luo, Michael (2016-10-10). "An Open Letter to the Woman Who Told My Family to Go Back to China". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
Contreras, Russell (2025-04-29). "New Yorker editor uncovers Chinese American history that most Americans don't know". Axios. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
Luo, Michael (2025-01-05). "History's Lessons on Anti-Immigrant Extremism". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
Luo, Michael (2025-03-06). "An Atrocity Still Being Unearthed". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
Luo, Michael (2025-03-03). "When an American Town Massacred Its Chinese Immigrants". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
"Spring Preview: A Few Books We're Excited For". The New York Times. 2025-03-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
Carlin, Shannon (2024-12-17). "The 39 Most Anticipated Books of 2025". TIME. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
Carlin, Shannon (2025-04-01). "The Best New Books to Read in April 2025". TIME. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
STRANGERS IN THE LAND | Kirkus Reviews.
Inskeep, Steve (2025-04-29). "Book Review: 'Strangers in the Land,' by Michael Luo". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
Chua-Eoan, Howard (2025-01-24). "America Versus China, the Troubling Prequel". Bloomberg.
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Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America Hardcover – 29 April 2025
by Michael Luo (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (179)
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LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR NONFICTION - From New Yorker writer Michael Luo comes a masterful narrative history of the Chinese in America that traces the sorrowful theme of exclusion and documents their more than century-long struggle to belong.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR:
THE NEW YORKER, THE WASHINGTON POST, TIME, BOSTON GLOBE, BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK, KIRKUS REVIEWS, LIBRARY JOURNAL, CHINA BOOKS REVIEW
"A story about aspiration and belonging that is as universal as it is profound."--Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing
"A gift to anyone interested in American history. I couldn't stop turning pages."--Charles Yu, author of Interior Chinatown
In Strangers in the Land, award-winning journalist Michael Luo tells the story of a people who, beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, migrated by the tens of thousands to a distant land they called Gum Shan--Gold Mountain. Americans initially welcomed these Chinese arrivals, but, as their numbers grew, horrific episodes of racial terror erupted on the Pacific coast. Federal lawmakers enacted legislation aimed at excluding Chinese laborers from the country, the first time the United States barred a people based on their race. The Chinese became the country's earliest undocumented immigrants: hounded, counted, suspected, surveilled.
In 1889, while upholding Chinese exclusion, Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Field characterized them as "strangers in the land." Only in 1965 did America's gates swing open to people like Luo's parents, immigrants from Taiwan. Today there are more than twenty-two million people of Asian descent in the United States and yet the "stranger" label, Luo writes, remains. Drawing on archives from across the country and written with style and sweep, Strangers in the Land is a revelatory and unforgettable American story
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Review
A NEW YORKER ESSENTIAL READ A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK A TIME MUST-READ BOOK A BOSTON GLOBE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A CHINA BOOKS REVIEW BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A TIME MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2025 A NEW YORK TIMES NONFICTION BOOK TO READ THIS SPRING
"Strangers in the Land is more than a story of an immigrant group accepting a wretched fate. Luo wisely puts the human experience at the center of this narrative. . . . In the process, he restores a voice to the forgotten men and women who endured endless broadsides in their adoption of a new country. . . . It's these people who animate the book, filling the pages with stories of endurance and hard-fought victories but also searing accounts of sorrow, violence and injustice. Along the way, Luo reveals something essential about America: Any democracy's promises should be measured against the way it treats its most marginalized members. At once an indictment of how our nation failed that test before and a reminder of how some pushed back, Strangers in the Land deserves a place on the shelf beside other essential works of American history." --The Washington Post
"You can't paint a complete picture of America without [the story of Chinese Americans], and the New Yorker journalist Michael Luo tells it persuasively in Strangers in the Land, a granular account of Chinese migration to the United States. In an evenhanded style that yields neither a woke polemic nor a sanitized past, he traces the lives of immigrants to a country that actively drew them in and then tried to push them out. . . [The book] succeeds through its little biographies of individuals - a range of quirky and fascinating figures, both Chinese and white, who drive the narrative. . . [and offer] a view on the full complexity of American immigration." --The New York Times Book Review
"Michael Luo's important study reminds us that without such indemnities, any group--but particularly the most vulnerable among us--could find itself excluded or expelled." --The Wall Street Journal
"In Strangers in the Land, Michael Luo has written a sweeping history that somehow feels intimate, a narrative of irrational bigotry and legal violence that somehow shines with hope. In a moment of anti-immigrant fever, this work arrives like a balm." --Boston Globe
"The story of the Chinese in America has been told before, but this history -- written by New Yorker editor Michael Luo -- does so with aplomb and verve. . . . Through individual stories he puts flesh on the bones of this history, combining assiduous research with compelling prose to complicate our understanding of Chinese migration to America over the last century and a half." -- China Books Review
"Luo celebrates the vitality and persistence of Chinese Americans while lamenting feelings of precariousness that pervade even today. His chronicle adds a much-needed Asian and Pacific voice to primarily Eurocentric narratives of nineteenth-century immigration." --Booklist (starred review)
"Giv[es] voice to the first Asian Americans. . . Narrative history[ies] of the Chinese experience in America [are], of course, legion. . . What distinguishes [Strangers in the Land] from the others, however, is that Luo's book, though sweeping in scope, is also microscopic when it comes to stories. . . Readers interested in American history, not only Chinese American history, will savor these pages. An estimable and vital work of history that honors the Chinese American experience." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The scope of Luo's book is massive and its recounting of history impressively detailed. . . . [Strangers in the Land] is a meticulous triumph of research and testimony, and its greatest strength is its attention to the individuals of this history--both known and unknown. . . . [The book] firmly asserts Chinese humanity in a history that has sought to exclude it. . . . With this book, Luo asks what makes a real American, ultimately demonstrating the ever-shifting goalposts of how to answer the question. . . . By bringing light to this history, Strangers in the Land suggests to Americans today that this [anti-Asian] political force is older, darker, and more enduring than we even know." --Foreign Policy
"A remarkable book. . . . Michael Luo. . . has taken a subject that most people of Chinese descent, like me, are aware of in a vaguely ominous way and turned it into a terrifying yet compelling narrative." --Bloomberg
"A lavishly detailed, inspiring, and sometimes infuriating exploration of why a true sense of belonging remains elusive for so many Chinese Americans." --Washington Independant Review of Books
"Sweeping. . . Amid the current paroxysms concerning immigration, diversity, and race, his history of earlier, often dismaying, confrontations and crises could not be more important." --Harvard Magazine
"An impressive feat. . . Strangers in the Land is an important book." --Rain Taxi
"This book is a gift to anyone interested in American history. I learned something on every page. And I couldn't stop turning pages. Michael Luo has somehow synthesized two hundred years of history into a compelling narrative that manages to be comprehensive, illuminating, and deeply moving. I'll treasure this work and return to it often and I imagine many others will, too." --Charles Yu, author of Interior Chinatown, winner of the National Book Award
"This book is an astonishing feat of urgent history. Michael Luo has unearthed a buried chapter of America's rise, in which Chinese immigrants fought their way through violence and scapegoating to build the nation's future. But he illuminates much more than the past; Strangers in the Land reimagines how the idea of Asia reverberates in American culture today, pulled between belonging, rejection, success, and suspicion. A powerful new entry in the canon on American identity." --Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China, winner of the National Book Award
"Strangers in the Land is what history should be--richly detailed, authoritative, and compelling. Luo pieces together the stunning and shocking story of a people's journey to this country, and in the process reveals an essential part of the story of America." --David Grann, New York Times-bestselling author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon
"An epic of both the best and worst aspects of the American experiment, Strangers in the Land is a work of history that is deeply researched, deftly written, and highly relevant today. In the vivid, often heartbreaking, and ultimately inspiring experiences of Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans, Luo finds a deeper story about aspiration and belonging that is as universal as it is profound." --Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times-bestselling author of Say Nothing
"This is not the story of a people being hated. This is the moving story of a people's persistence and resistance -- how individuals, families, and changing communities looked hard at rejection, endured violence, consumed daily bitterness, and yet sought the higher purposes of humanity and better lives. With profound feeling, clear narrative, and unyielding hope for a greater understanding, Michael Luo has written a definitive biography of the first Asians in America. Luo's book serves as a witness of how powerful the love and aspirations of immigrants make real the most beautiful promises of a new homeland." --Min Jin Lee, New York Times-bestselling author of Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko
"In Strangers in the Land, Michael Luo shines a bright light on the unwavering patriotism and determination that is the Chinese American legacy. By unearthing in intimate, empathic details US immigration law's roots in Chinese exclusion, Luo writes into the record what history books and courses have long buried but what every Chinese American feels in their bones. This book has enriched my understanding of American law, of Asian American identity, and of my own sense of self. I cannot think of a human being who would not be bettered by reading this canonical work. Strangers in the Land is powerful, essential reading for us all." --Qian Julie Wang, New York Times-bestselling author of Beautiful Country
"Tracing echoes of today's debates around immigration and exclusion to the past, Luo's vividly told, carefully researched, and deeply compassionate book is an essential contribution to the continually unfolding story of the Chinese in America." --Hua Hsu, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Stay True
"Impressively researched and beautifully told, Strangers in the Land offers a new and much-needed history of a people and community that have always been central to the American story." --Erika Lee, Bae Family Professor of History, Harvard University, and author of The Making of Asian America: A History
"The violent, terrible history of Chinese exclusion and xenophobia is told with feeling and expansive research. Michael Luo's excellent recovery of this vital story is critical in this difficult time." --Gordon H. Chang, Professor, Department of History and Olive H. Palmer Professor in Humanities, Stanford University, and author of Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad
"Michael Luo's new history of the Chinese in the U.S. is a book for our time, when anti-Chinese sentiment has again gripped American politics. In Luo's masterful account, Chinese emigrants' and Chinese Americans' stories and voices are front and center. They encountered and resisted racist harassment, violence, and laws from the California gold rush to today's new gilded age. Shaping Chinese American communities and America at large, it is a story told with sensitivity and renewed urgency." --Mae M. Ngai, Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies and Professor of History, Columbia University, and author of The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics
About the Author
MICHAEL LUO is an executive editor at The New Yorker and writes regularly for the magazine on politics, religion, and Asian American issues. He joined The New Yorker in 2016. Before that, he spent thirteen years at the New York Times, as a metro reporter, national correspondent, and investigative reporter and editor. He is a recipient of a George Polk Award and a Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
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Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in AmericaProduct details
Publisher : Doubleday Books
Publication date : 29 April 2025
Language : English
Print length : 560 pages
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Michael Luo
MICHAEL LUO is an executive editor at The New Yorker and writes regularly for the magazine on politics, religion, and Asian American issues. He joined The New Yorker in 2016. Before that, he spent thirteen years at The New York Times, as a metro reporter, national correspondent, and investigative reporter and editor. He is a recipient of a George Polk Award and a Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
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From other countries
J
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview that is well worth reading
Reviewed in the United States on 20 December 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Truly an impressive book - it’s not only well researched, it’s very well written from beginning to end.
The book is an excellent overview of Chinese immigrants and their treatment in America, with a focus on the latter half of the 1800’s. Historical events are interspersed with accounts of people who lived them. I’m in a nonfiction book club and sometimes the books we read can be informative but dry. That is not the case here. The author truly has a gift for prose - chapter transitions leave you wanting to read more, and the stories are masterful in quickly painting a picture of people and events, really bringing history to life.
Sometimes the books can be hard to read because the stories are so sad, with people forced to leave their communities, suffering injuries or even lynching, and too many injustices to list. But I am glad to have read them, because these events should not be forgotten. As William Faulkner wrote, “The past is never dead. It's not even past.” A counterpoint to that is humans have the ability to preserve knowledge through writing, thereby allowing future generations to build on that knowledge and both remember and learn from the past. The author has done a commendable job here in preserving this history, and it is well worth reading.
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KL
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommend!
Reviewed in the United States on 20 September 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
This book is an absolute masterpiece that sheds light on an important and often overlooked chapter of American history. "Strangers in the Land" goes beyond just telling the story of the Chinese in America—it brings to life the struggles, resilience, and contributions of a community that faced extraordinary challenges and systemic exclusion for generations. The author’s storytelling is vivid and deeply engaging, weaving together personal narratives, historical context, and socio-political analysis in a way that feels both informative and emotionally compelling.
What stands out most is how the book captures the complexity of belonging and identity. It explores not just the hardships and discrimination faced by Chinese immigrants, but also their efforts to carve out a place in the fabric of America despite relentless opposition. The research is thorough and well-documented, yet the writing never gets bogged down in academic jargon. Instead, it’s accessible, moving, and thought-provoking.
I learned so much about how policies and public sentiment shaped the lives of Chinese Americans, and how those historical stories still resonate today in conversations about immigration, race, and belonging. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, social justice, or simply a powerful story of perseverance. Highly recommend!
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mc
5.0 out of 5 stars An incredibly important book for our time
Reviewed in the United States on 12 July 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
This book blew me away. Even as an Asian-American who is relatively knowledgeable about our country's history, I was completely unaware of most of the events described in this book until I read it. By the end, it was clear to me that the story of the Chinese in America is an essential part our country's history. Sadly, this story includes decades of widespread mass violence against Chinese immigrants with almost no accountability, efforts (very often successful) to eradicate Chinese immigrants from communities across the country through intimidation and force, and of course, the Chinese Exclusion Act. But the story also includes the persistence and triumph of the Chinese as they fought through seemingly insurmountable obstacles and formed what is today a vital and thriving community in this country. How is it that I, and probably most Americans, do not know any of this history? Well, most of it is simply not taught in our schools. Unfortunately, the powerless and marginalized are so often left out by those who write history. I'm so grateful to the author for digging into some of the most obscure archives to find these stories and tell them in such a compelling and relevant way.
U.S. history courses in our schools should devote time to teaching the events covered in this book. I am hoping this book prompts a serious discussion about such a change. As the final page of this book observes, a sense of belonging for Asian-Americans in this country remains elusive. What's worse, even as Asian-Americans have made massive progress in this country, a resurgence of anti-Asian sentiment and even anti-Asian violence is never far away. But to guard against that outcome, not just for Asian-Americans but all immigrant groups, it is critical that enough of us (including non-Asian Americans) understand how our country came to embrace such hatred before. This book gives me hope that it's never too late to change what we teach about our country's history, to learn new lessons from that history, and to use that knowledge to create a better country for all of us. Thank you, Michael Luo!
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Reader 612
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book!
Reviewed in the United States on 30 August 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Well researched book.
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Irene W.
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Read on American Stories
Reviewed in the United States on 3 June 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
This work is well-written and important for everyone who wants to know and understand American history, not only the history of Chinese in the U.S. The stories are fascinating and easy to read and the history is relevant for today's conversations about how the U.S. treats immigrants and nonwhite outsiders. This is an important book that should become required reading for anyone wanting to learn about the history of Chinese and immigration history in the U.S.
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Kamikawa San
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Informative Read On The Chinese Immigration Story In America
Reviewed in the United States on 13 October 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
A most informative and in depth story of the Chinese immigrant populace in America. Bought a dozen extra copies to give away as gifts.
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KH in San Diego
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on 10 February 2026
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Very good serious book on the history of the Chinese coming to America
They were treated so badly
Many parallels to today
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wytjasmine
5.0 out of 5 stars Good deal on an informational book
Reviewed in the United States on 6 December 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Super informational very thorough research I’m learning a lot
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Faye
5.0 out of 5 stars Better Than Described
Reviewed in the United States on 20 January 2026
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Book arrived on time and in excellent condition.
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History Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars Narrative history at its best
Reviewed in the United States on 18 May 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
The Washington Post recently gave this book a rave review, saying that it "deserves a place on the shelf beside other essential works of American history." Hear, hear. It's a monumental work, but it's also an incredibly propulsive read. I found myself irresistibly drawn into the story of the Chinese in America and experiencing the twists and turns of their saga. There's a lot of darkness here but also light. I came away marveling at their story of persistence and resilience. Essential reading indeed.
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Olivia
5.0 out of 5 stars Educational
Reviewed in the United States on 12 September 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Still reading, but very informative! It is sad this is not in our history books in high school. This is why our country maintains division and exclusion. A must read for insight!
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J. A. Cho
5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Work for Our Time
Reviewed in the United States on 21 June 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
This book is clearly incredibly well researched, but because the writer is a New Yorker writer, the narrative is strong. Don't let this book intimidate you by its size. From the first lines of the introduction, it captured my attention. This is such an important work, never more-so than in the times we're currently living in.
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wantonkuponoodles
5.0 out of 5 stars History that needed to be preserved.
Reviewed in the United States on 30 June 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
1st Gen or ABC, should learn the history and struggles and of Chinese-Americans. Especially in light of landmark cases like Wong Kim Ark and the shift of Birthright Citizenship.
The numerous massacres are a dark history that needs to be remembered, as it is often sanitize or not taught at all.
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Jack
5.0 out of 5 stars First Edition Signed by Author
Reviewed in the United States on 25 June 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Based on positive reviews of this well researched book, I decided to order a copy to read and eventually share with my children.
To save a few dollars I purchased a used copy. It arrived quickly and, to my surprise, I received a first edition which had been signed by the author. 👍🏻
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crazygardener
3.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, but a Bummer
Reviewed in the United States on 18 November 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Somwhat repetitive and greatly too detailed biography of our national shame of the treatment of the Chinese. I highly recommend it, but you will need a anti-depressant.
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J. Gravener
5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely stunning history
Reviewed in the United States on 6 May 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
I have never forgotten Iris Chang's great book about the Chinese in America, and since having moved to San Francisco 25 years ago, I haven interested in reading about the Chinese experience here in the United States. Their tale echoes through the histories of other immigrants today. I'm so grateful for book like this so that I can continue to learn and appreciate ultimately appreciate my neighbors.
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세진님, 요청하신 마이클 루오의 저서 <이 땅의 이방인들: 배제, 소속, 그리고 미국 내 중국인의 서사시>에 대한 요약과 평론입니다. 나를 향하지 않은 글이므로 요청하신 바에 따라 <해라> 체를 사용하여 작성했습니다.
이 땅의 이방인들: 배제, 소속, 그리고 미국 내 중국인의 서사시 요약 및 평론
1. 요약
황금산의 꿈과 환대의 종말
19세기 중반, 수많은 중국인 이주민이 <금산(Gum Shan, 황금산)>이라 불리는 미지의 땅, 미국으로 향했다.
제도적 배제와 미등록 이주민의 탄생
인종적 적대감은 민간의 폭력을 넘어 국가의 제도적 장치로 고착화되었다. 1882년 미국 연방의회는 <중국인 배제법(Chinese Exclusion Act)>을 통과시켰다.
지속되는 저항과 1965년의 전환점
중국인들은 국가적 배제 속에서도 굴복하지 않았다. 그들은 법원에 소송을 제기하고, 서류상 가족 관계를 만들어 입국하는 <페이퍼 손(Paper Sons)> 방식을 동원하는 등 법적·제도적 틈새를 찾아 끊임없이 저항하고 생존을 도모했다. 영주권과 시민권의 획득을 위해 법정 투쟁을 벌인 <미국 대 웡킴아크(United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 1898)> 사건 등은 이들이 미국 헌법의 권리를 확장하는 데 기여한 결정적 순간들이었다. 이후 1965년 <이민 및 국적법(Immigration and Nationality Act)>이 개정되면서 비로소 미국의 빗장이 아시아인들에게 제대로 열리기 시작했다.
현대의 영원한 이방인 신화
책의 후반부는 1965년 이후 아시아계 이주민이 급증한 현대 사회를 다룬다.
2. 평론
역사적 기억의 복원과 저널리틱한 치밀함
마이클 루오의 <이 땅의 이방인들>은 미국 주류 역사학이 오랫동안 변방으로 밀어내거나 의도적으로 묻어두었던 아시아계 미국인의 잔혹사를 정면으로 다룬 기념비적 저작이다. 저자는 <뉴요커>의 편집자이자 오랜 저널리스트로서의 역량을 십분 발휘하여, 방대한 아카이브와 법정 기록, 개인의 서신을 샅샅이 파헤친다.
소속감의 조건에 대한 철학적 질문
이 책이 지닌 진정한 가치는 과거의 불행을 기록하는 데 그치지 않고, <국가에 귀속된다는 것은 무엇인가>라는 근원적인 질문을 던지는 데 있다. 중국인 이주민들은 대륙횡단철도를 놓고 건국에 준하는 경제적 기여를 했음에도 불구하고 국가의 구성원으로 인정받지 못했다. 이는 애국심이나 충성심, 혹은 경제적 기여도가 소속의 절대적 기준이 될 수 없음을 시사한다. 주류 사회가 규정한 인종적·문화적 경계선 밖에 있는 이들은 아무리 시스템 내부에서 성실하게 기능하더라도 정치적·사회적 격변기에는 한순간에 <이방인>의 위치로 미끄러질 수 있다. 저자는 이를 통해 미국이 자랑하는 보편적 인권과 민주주의의 가치가 실제로는 얼마나 배타적이고 자의적으로 적용되어 왔는지를 통렬하게 비판한다.
현대적 시의성과 보편적 연대
이 저작은 19세기 말의 중국인 배제법이 현대 미국의 반이민 정서, 그리고 아시아계를 향한 잠재적 불신과 어떻게 혈연적으로 연결되어 있는지를 명확히 짚어낸다. 2020년대 들어 다시 머리를 드는 제노포비아(Xenophobia, 외국인 혐오)와 아시아계 증오 범죄는 과거의 역사가 청산되지 않은 채 반복되고 있음을 보여주는 증거다.
이 영상은 저자인 마이클 루오가 시민권 변호사이자 작가인 치안 줄리 왕과 함께 본 저서의 핵심 주제와 집필 배경에 대해 깊이 있는 대화를 나누는 북토크 회견이다. 책의 맥락을 이해하는 데 큰 도움이 될 것이다.
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