Everything You Need to Know about Asian-American History [Paperback]

Himilce Novas (Author), Lan Cao (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1996

Utilizing a lively question-and-answer format, a comprehensive overview of Asian-American history documents the dramatic impact of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, and Pacific Island cultures on American society. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Authors Cao (international business law, Brooklyn Law Sch.) and Novas (Everything You Need To Know about Latino History, Dutton, 1994) use a question-and-answer format to provide information about most of the Asian and Pacific Islander groups in the United States. The authors include the history of immigration, cultural aspects (food, holidays, religions), racial/cultural problems experienced by the various groups, and short biographical sketches of prominent individuals. The format and compact size and price are attractive, but information on the Filipinos and the Pacific Islanders is incomplete, with serious omissions of people and events that fall within the time span covered in other chapters (for example, there is no mention of the 1994 election of a Filipino American as Hawaii's governor or biographies of prominent Pacific Islanders such as Greg Louganis). The Asian American Almanac (Gale, 1995), while more expensive, is a much better resource for public and school libraries.?Katharine L. Kan, Hawaii State Lib., Honolulu
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Himilce Novas is the author of seven books, including highly acclaimed works of fiction. She has contributed to The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Connoisseur, Cuisine, and other publications. She taught American literature for some years at the University of Southern California-Santa Barbara, and is currently teaching literature at Wellesley College and Clark University. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Plume (August 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452273153
• ISBN-13: 978-0452273153
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,565,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disservice to Asian American History, July 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Everything You Need to Know about Asian-American History (Paperback)

I will not even make a stab at trying to point out the numerous flaws and inconsistencies with this work. It is both facile and inaccurate, essentializing the experiences of Asian Americans in an Orientalist context. You are far better served reading any number of historical works that synthesize the experiences of Asian Americans, including Suchen Chan, Asian Americans: An Interpretive History (Boston: Twayne Publishing, 1991); Gary Okihiro, Margins and Mainstreams (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995); and Ron Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore, Revised Edition (New York: Penguin, 1998). As a historian of the Asian American experience, I am dismayed when I see anything trying to pass itself off as the end-all be-all. Asian American history is an exciting field with a number of excellent works by cutting-edge scholars. Do not waste your time on this book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Not Brain Surgery, But. . ., January 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Asian-American History, Everything You Need to Know about (School & Library Binding)

This book is in a readable format consisting of questions that middle and senior high school students might ask about Asian Americans. For the most part, the explanations are clear and short. I do not agree with the reviewers who hated this book. The titles they recommended are scholarly works more suitable for the college level. This book is a useful introduction, not "Everthing you need to know," as the title suggests. This book has sparked interest in Asian American history and many of my middle school students have gone further to read Sucheng Chan and Ron Takaki's Asian Pacific Islander series, but I haven't had much luck using the more scholarly Asian American histories as a starting point.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Please don't waste your time nor your money, November 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Everything You Need to Know about Asian-American History (Paperback)

Contrary to one review, Novas and Cao did NOT research. There are so many instances of incorrect information as well as shameless stereotyping. I strongly feel that no one should waste their time or money on this bound book of filth.