Alas! What Brought Thee Hither?: The Chinese in New York 1800-1950 [Hardcover]

Arthur Bonner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1996

This is the first iconographic history of the Chinese in New York. The history of immigrants who left scant records of their struggle to survive in a society in which the Chinese were reviled as angerous, opium soaked, and unassimilable is recounted. Includes 180 illustrations.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 203 pages
• Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Pr (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0838637043
• ISBN-13: 978-0838637043
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,148,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great stories, wonderful research -- with a caveat., April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Alas! What Brought Thee Hither?: The Chinese in New York 1800-1950 (Hardcover)

In "Alas! What Brought Thee Hither?" Arthur Bonner has done a magnificent job researching virtually every printed word about New York's Chinatown from the 1840's until just after World War II, often quoting long-unheard Chinese voices in the process. His well-organized text is crammed full of fascinating vignettes, detailing the development of that intriguing neighborhood, and the crushingly-hard path that the first couple of Chinese-American generations followed to make a life in this country. Every paragraph reveals some meaty tidbit, with a plethora of period illustrations to round them out. It is not a book that one would normally read cover to cover, but dip into here and there -- a buffet, rather than a banquet. Unfortunately, Mr. Bonner doesn't go any deeper than these journalistic accounts, leaving the tale somewhat bloodless. Women, especially, are given short shrift in Mr. Bonner's tale. Take as an example his claim that the lavishly-dressed ladies lining the walls of grand banquets of 100 years ago were merely prostitutes or concubines waiting for their patrons. Not so, Mr. Bonner. As the great-grandson of one of those women, I can safely say they were simply the wives of the male diners, as the womenfolk were always separated from the men in such public social situations. He also says that the infamous tunnels supposedly used as escape routes for Tong warriors were inventions of the taboid press of the day. Not only were these tunnels real, anyone can visit them today, as they have been turned into a shopping arcade to relieve the overcrowding at street level. Although there are other such missteps, "Alas..." is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in the history of New York City's Chinatown.