Customer Reviews

A Chinaman's Chance: The Chinese on the Rocky Mountain Mining Frontier

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I strongly recommend this book. It is about time that someone wrote a book about the virtues of the Chinese people living in the western U.S. during the 19th century. Most similar books concentrate on the discrimination and other injustices done to the Chinese workers who worked on the railroads, for example.

"A Chinaman's Chance," however, focuses on the positive Chinese experiences. Did you know that the Chinese had superior eating habits and work ethics? Hidong Sidong was the first Chinese man to lead an asian hiking expedition in the 19th century. Did you know that? Do you know who invented Rocky Mountain oyster stew?

I strongly recommend this book.

Recent scholars have begun to examine the impact of the ethnic experience in the American West unlike ever before. Most have concluded that ethnic immigrants have had little opportunity for advancement in the United States. Professor Zhu counters this arguement with his pathbreaking work, A CHINAMAN'S CHANCE, THE CHINESE ON THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MINING FRONTIER. Rather than depicting the Chinese as helpless victims, unable to fend for themselves in a new land, the author demonstrates that not all immigrants allowed themselves to be victims. Using the American legal system, armed opposition, frugal economy, a superior diet, and adaptation to the environment, the Chinese of the Boise Basin, Idaho displayed a resilency hardly matched by European immigrants and even American migrants to the Rocky Mountain West.

This study is a must-read for students of the American West and Frontier and those interested in ethnic history in Victorian American. His research is impeccable, his writing witty, and his commitment to telling a real, even compelling story is unprecedented in ethnic history.

A CHINAMAN'S CHANCE is outstanding history!

This is a clearly-written and well-researched case study about nineteenth-century Chinese immigrants who come to Idaho in search of mineral wealth. Rather than focus on racial discrimination and violence, Professor Zhu makes the case that while there were problems, there were also opportunities. In telling this neglected story of success and achievement, the author reveals a more complicated picture of the Chinese experience on the western frontier.

Writers and historians have traditionally portrayed Chinese immigrants in the nineteenth-century American West as victims. Using the Boise Basin, Idaho, as a case study, Liping Zhu challenges the stereotypypical image of the Chinese pioners. Like other pioneers, the Chinese immigrants in this unique Rocky Mountain mining region had equal access to the pursuit of happiness. The American frontier provided the Chinese miners with various opportunities. The Chinese enjoyed certains rights as well. The argument is well supported by solid evidence. The narrative style of writing also strengthens this work. It is a must-read book for anyone who is interested in race relations, ethnic immigration, and cultural history.

Great little book specific to a region of Idaho but also touching on the rest of the west and a little on the eastern USA. Quite frank about how the Chinese were treated. I saw many photos that I had not seen before in my research. So much interesting information on Chinese history, mining, placer mining, food, disease,Idaho,California,excusion act,and the tax laws.

Lacks something. Disconnected anecdotes and stories. Doesn't present a whole picture of what went on here. I don't agree with some of the conclusions.

A limited book at best. Assuming the research is done correctly, this book is still lacking in accurately depicting the lives and opportunities of the early Chinese-Americans who pioneered in America. This book failed to captured the spirit of the time, the hardship faced by the "Chinaman," and the difficulties he had to endured -- first in surviving the trip to America and then enduring the hard and lonely life here. The author might have done better by interviewing some older Chinese-Americans who lived here in the earlier part of this century and relate stories told to them by their predecessors. Even better, he could have referred to sources outside of America, where there are many accounts written or narrated by Chinese-Americans who were here during the period. Much of these sources are found outside of China, for example in Hong Kong, or Singapore, or Taiwan, or even South America. Not relevant, you think? It is very relevant because many of the emigrants from China emigrated for the same reasons. And many of them emigrated to both America and these other places. Most of these overseas Chinese emigrated from the same southeastern part of China (mainly the province of Kwantung). The author missed a lot of important and relevant supporting material. The book could have been a lot more. It is too short and too limited. It presented a very narrow view of the period. The author could have done a better job in explaining the backgrounds of the subjects. By narrowing the sources to American archives, the history presented is a distorted one.

A well researched and written book. I used to live in Idaho and heard of a lot of stories about the Chinese experience in the area. But this book gives me new imformation. We do have to pay more attention to positive aspects of ethnic minorities. I enjoy reading this book.