Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Strangers From a Different Shore by Ronald Takaki ISBN: 0-316-83130-1 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 23 September, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (10 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Take Two - The Asian American Experience Revisited
Comment: What was useful to me as a new scholar in the area of migration studies is that in Strangers from a Different Shore, Takaki's makes extensive use of numbers - mixed in with a plethora of anecdote. Once again, we are beset with the notion that there are statistics and such. What was really missing, at least for me, was the framing of the Asian American experience (of which Takaki is somewhat self-reflective but contradictory here - since there really is no homogenous 'Asian American' experience per se) within the framework of world migration. As much as the anecdotes and references to numbers are concerned they do have explanatory powers but then both are not really examined against hard core migration theory - so in some places the book fails as history. Nonetheless, Takaki's narrative of first generation immigrants is compelling and very accessible and prompts us to ask some fairly fundamental questions.
Takaki does move us to ask the very fundamental questions about what it is to be American. He uses a variety of sources - much of which, as indicated above - are problematically anecdotal. Nonetheless, Takaki paints a picture that is in many places lucid. Takaki also provide an explanation for the landscape of modern day demographics and gives the reader a broad base to work with to understand the modern day ethnic dynamic in America. Takaki is far-reaching use of the immigrants own voice. However, the question we are faced with is this 'really' reflective of the Asian American voice or does Takaki's examination have an agenda - not that that is bad or wrong per se, it just has to be recognized.
I was somewhat disenchanted that Takaki did not provide more detail on the Thai and Hmong Americans. Takaki's examination of the Thai examination was noted only relation to that of the Vietnamese experience and it was certainly not very flattering either way. Also, if Takaki is completely accurate about the Asian Indian experience does this mean that most Asian Indian immigrants to the US are from the Punjab - or at least at the time that Takaki is focusing on? On the other hand, examining anything from a regional studies perspective is always tricky as there are criteria for inclusion and exclusion. What is it really to be Asian American? Where does Asia 'really' start and end? Is Takaki 'really' focusing on East Asia when he writes extensively about the American Chinese and American Japanese experience? How is the rest of Asia 'really' treated? Who defines 'Southeast Asia'? Where Takaki sometimes falls short, at least for me, is how he defines what. It is not entirely crucial, per se - just that it would be more helpful to see where and how he came up with some of his categories. Although Takaki does provide extensive detail in relation to particular 'Asian American' groups, in a way I still have mixed feelings about how he divided the book into sections then focused on those particular 'Asian American' groupings. You would not think by reading this but I do recommend the book highly if only for its extensive scope.
Miguel Llora
Rating: 5
Summary: From a Different Shore
Comment: We're all pretty familiar with the immigration patterns that came to our east cost through time in such places as Ellis Island. However, pacific immigration and immigration to Hawaii have received less attention. He deals with Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the west coast and the life off immigrant emplyed in Hawaii agriculture. Takaki looks at this pattern of immigration from the arrival of the first Chinese in California in the 1840s. He covers a lot of asain ethnic groups like the Chinese, Japanese, Asian Indians, and Korean. He looks at immigration through the present and different legislation like the Chinese Exclusion Act, immigration act of 1924 that basically cut of Asian immmigration and the immigration act of 1965 that reopened Asian immigration. Takaki looks at the hearships and racism that affected these immigrant. In addition, Takaki focuses on the adjustments, how they lived and how their children born in this country were treated. Present Asian-Americans concerns are presented like anti-Asian violence like the murder of Vincent Chin and the Dotbusters.
Rating: 5
Summary: Well written book on the History of Asian Americans
Comment: Ronald Takaki did an excellent job in writing the Asian Americans experience from the first generation of immigrants to current issues that are affecting Asian Americans today. One of Takaki's aims in this book is to tell his readers the role of Asian-Americans in shaping the history of America. Many, he believes, held the view that being an American means being "white" which is far from the truth.
Takaki uses a variety of sources such as personal recollection, oral testimonies, newspapers, court cases, personal observations, among others. This makes his writings very credible indeed.
One of Takaki's aim is to bring a deeper understanding of Asian-Americans to his readers. Reading his book enables you to understand the Asian culture, their beliefs, ideas and why they become who they are today. Besides that, Takaki does not focus on only one ethnic group but several others that make up the so called "Asian American" minority group.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Asian Americans and the roles they played in shaping America today. It is important to learn about different ethnic group as the history of America is essentially a history of immigrants and it is important for us not to neglect this minority group which has made tremendous contributions to the nation and its society.
 |
Title: A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki ISBN: 0316831115 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1994 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
 |
Title: Asian American Dreams : The Emergence of an American People by Helen Zia ISBN: 0374527369 Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 15 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: America Is in the Heart: A Personal History (Washington Paperbacks, Wp-68) by Carlos Bulosan, Carey McWilliams ISBN: 029595289X Publisher: University of Washington Press Pub. Date: June, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
 |
Title: Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White by Frank H. Wu ISBN: 046500640X Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 25 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: Asian Americans: An Interpretive History (Twayne's Immigrant Heritage of America Series) by Sucheng Chan ISBN: 0805784373 Publisher: Gale Group Pub. Date: January, 1991 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
