Customer Reviews

Eastern Standard Time: A Guide to Asian Influence on American Culture from Astro Boy to Zen Buddhism

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I wasn't sure what EST was about but I really wanted to find out. It turned out to be a mixed bag. I don't think A. Magazine or the editors should have marketed the book as a definitive guide to 'ASIAN-AMERICAN pop culture'. It's really a guide to Asian influences in mainstream culture and a guide to popular aspects of Asian culture, namely film and music. While incredibly informative and broad in its scope, as a young politically active Korean-American, I can't say I identified with much in this book. And I don't believe Asian-Americans are meant to read this book and go, 'Wow, that's what I grew up with and how I live'. The opposite, 'Wow, I should buy/wear/eat/learn some of that to get more in touch with my roots and be cool in an Asian way' seems to be more the attitude of this book. In fact, it almost seems more geared toward non-Asians who are interested in 'Asian-ness'. I hate to say it, but this 'definitive work' is guilty of exotifying itself in order to sell. I had to force myself to read the entire thing. There is a huge difference between what is 'ASIAN' and what is 'ASIAN-AMERICAN'. Japanese or Hong Kong new-wave popular culture has almost NOTHING to do with me or my life as an Asian-American. Japanese thrash metal and Korean modern art are not part of a normal 'Asian-American' experience unless one actively seeks them out and thus do NOT constitute 'Asian-American' popular culture. If I have to read a book in order to find out what my relevant 'pop-culture' consists of, then it must not have existed there in the first place. However, it was a good effort, nicely packaged, was an encyclopedia of facts, and since it attempted to be a breakthrough work (and is in theory), I give it 5 stars. I love learning about _other_ cultures but I really hope that next time, there will be something about 'Asian-AMERICAN popular culture'.

Fill in the following blanks: Chinese __, Japanese __, Korean __, Indian __, Vietnamese __, and Thai __. How many words can you put in each blank? This book is an excellent guide to solve this puzzle.
Written by editors of a magazine specializing in Asian-American culture, EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST) covers a wide range of topics in detail. In particular, 'FILM AND TELEVISION' chapter covers both old and new animations and movies even natives from those cultures don't know. Also, recognizing great influence of Asian foods, the book spares many pages on them with recipes for some typical dishes.
Besides minor glitches (obvious typos), EST may be a great help to have a common background with your Asian or Asian-American friends.

This is an enjoyable, fun survey of Asian influences on American pop culture. Some of the reviews above are a bit harsh. Take this for what it is: a grab bag of very short, engaging nuggets of pop-Asian trivia, written with an American/Canadian audience in mind, formatted in an off-beat manner (altho the layout can be a bit hard to read at times, if you sometimes have trouble reading Wired Magazine because of the fonts, backgrounds, etc, you may find the same difficulty here).
I haven't found anything else like this anywhere -- pretty much a one of a kind resource.

I'm surprised by how personal and vicious some of the reviewers of this book got when writing... some of whom seem to have a personal beef with A. Magazine, some of whom have racial issues of their own. Can we just review the book and not our own lives? Based on the book itself, I would have to say that it's excellent--well-researched, very informative, very well-writtten. I couldn't find any other book on the market that offers this comprehensive and in-depth directory of Asian trends and phenomena. This book sold out in bookstores here in Singapore.

This book attempts to cover culture in ALL of the countries of the "far east", and in doing so has no depth or substance on any one topic. It also has no suggestions for further reading if you are intrigued by a particular topic. A much better book along these lines is the JAPANESE POP CATALOG which does contain fascinating detail, though admittedly it "only" covers japan.

i bought this book 3 1/2 yrs ago and it's been one of my favourites ever since. it is humourous and easy to read. the book touches on a huge range of subjects concerning a variety of cultures (chinese, korean, japanese, indian, thai, taiwanese, filipino, etc. )which is something no other book has done. because of this i think everyone will learn something new.

for all those critics who didn't like the book, i think you take yourselves too seriously... the book is suppose to be a fun introduction to asian culture, not an in depth study of all things asian.

This book is a delight. It breaks the myth of assimilation and defines acculturation. EST is a well-written and occassionally humourous look at all the Asian influences in the USA. Very well organized and easy to read. Read it and get smarter!!

This book is a great look into the ever growing Asian Culture in the the 90's! Jeff Yang is my second-cousin and we've spoken for hours on end about his book. It's amazing how much information you can learn from this. Being Taiwanese, I found this book a fresh breath from the Asian Sterotypes. It has everything for everyone, not just non-Asians. It includes the histories of Film&Movies, Literature, Food, Culture, Music, Tradition and other interesting catagories. This is truly where East meets West! Asian culture given a new fresh wind in the 90's. Bravo!

Kudos to the editors and writers at A. Magazine. This totally engrossing tome of factoids was one of the best books I have ever read. The in depth analysis on each topic is amazing! Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world? The origins of "No can do" and "Long time no see"? Bruce lee! Jet Li! Recipes! Excellent! I want more! Volume two please! You guys rock.

A most stimulating read, if one is interested in contemporary ASIAN "influences" in North America. It is rather strange that the staff of a publication dedicated to highlighting ASIAN AMERICA as a unique & distinct way of life unto itself would devote energy to a theme like this, however. ASIAN is not the same as ASIAN AMERICAN.