Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans Au of... (Paperback)

by Ronald Takaki (Author) "In Palolo Valley on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, where I lived as a child, my neighbors had names like Hamamoto, Kauhane, Wong, and Camara..." (more)
Key Phrases: gam saan haak, anese immigrants, ethnic labor market, United States, San Francisco, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"Takaki has written a vibrant, rich history that gives back a voice to countless 'invisible Americans.' His broad, multi-ethnic survey is peopled with real individuals, allowing us to experience their loneliness, separation from families, struggles for survival," praised PW . Photos. Author tour.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
This popular history of Asian Americans--Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Filipinos, and Indians--based frequently on primary sources, shows how they have made their presence felt in America from the early 1800s. Their immigration has been marked by the cruelty of forced labor, poverty, and intense prejudice. Many had come searching for a better life after hearing tales of gold nuggets on city streets, money on trees, and the famed "gold mountain." Instead, they found the endless chopping of sugar cane, the sweat of laundries, the backache of building railroads. Later generations discovered the lack of opportunity despite prestigious university degrees. This is fascinating reading, highly recommended.
- Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Community Coll., Garden City, N.Y.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books; Rev Upd edition (September 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316831301
• ISBN-13: 978-0316831307
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,005 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written book on the History of Asian Americans, September 16, 2001

By	Janice (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews

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.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "What's the Difference?", May 19, 2000

By	it burns (Glendale, California) - See all my reviews

A common struggle exists for citizens of America, specifically Asian-Americans; the question ironically is: are we Americans at all? Hawaii, where Asians are the majority, sets the background for immigration in the early 1900's. Ronald Takaki does an excellent job of giving accurate details of the start of early 1st generation Asians.

Surprisingly unprejudiced, Takaki uses superb quotes to give opinions and feeling of the Asian-Americans. Along with emotional impact, _Strangers From a Different Shore_ contains many stories, statistics, and laws providing the sense of what rights and true freedom Asian-Americans really had in the land of equals.

A well researched book, with almost every paragraph containing reference to many other articles and books, Takaki provides specific sections for major Asian ethnicities, and general details for the many other countries out there. With details of competition of Asian races among each other, leaving nothing out. Takaki does not side to Japanese as the most neglected or accepted, and gives information of the faults of Japanese among the ethnicities as well.

_Strangers From a Different Shore_ also gives the dramatic accounts of WWII, a strong turning point from the involvement of Japan and its victims. Retelling the involvement of many Asians serving America's army, it also includes the story of the 442/100 and the internment/relocation (not concentration) of the Japanese

Jumping to current day society, Asians are still struggling to become part of America. Asians currently battling many stereotypes still, which are viewed as factual information, brings Takaki to dissect some of the newer passive racial markings.

I find this book dead accurate, and backed up very well (just look at the bibliography). I have found _Strangers From a Different Shore_ a great read and recommend this book to everyone. It might not provide the same experience as an Asian-American would have, but hopefully all can relate to it no matter what race.

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Asian American History X, June 9, 2000

By	Christopher Fung (honolulu) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

From the outset, I want to say that I like this book very much. It is one of the classics of Asian American history and it is certainly one of the best "one-stop shops" for a detailed, accurate historical account of the Asian American experience. Takaki makes some very useful contributions to our understanding of the major historical currents at work during the different periods of Asian migration and offers cogent reasons for why various Asian American communities look the way that they do. Finally, he does a great job of highlighting the differences between each of the groups that are lumped together under the term "Asian".

That being said, I also feel that Takaki compromises some of his historical mission through his constant need to include the voices of individual Asian Americans and their persecutors as a chorus in his work. While it is no doubt important to have people "testify" as to their experiences, I find myself wondering what other things they said that do not simply support the wonderfully direct narrative that he constructs. Moreover, there is so much in the way of anecdote and detail and so little in the way of deep analysis that in the end I wished that Takaki had applied his undoubted talents over a slightly smaller focus, the better to get at the underlying complexities. This is perhaps where ethnic studies and anthropology part company.

Please don't get me wrong, I think this book is a great improvement over Lynn Pan's trite journalism or some of the other so-called histories of our peoples. But, while I don't wish to denigrate Takaki's work, it seems a very small step from this work to the simple glorification of "experience" (even if it's "our" experience") at the expense of reasoned, careful analysis. Frank Chin has castigated Asian American writers for wallowing in self-revelation, and though I think Frank can be a bit of a grumpy old man at times, I have to say I agree with him. I understand that "Strangers" was originally written in a far different climate than the one which we now inhabit, a time when Asian-bashing was far less circumspect and Vincent Chin's memory was still fresh in everyone's mind. But I think we can do Vincent (and Amadou Diallo and all our other sisters and brothers in oppression), more justice if we THINK HARD about what it means to be someone of color in this country rather than simply FEEL.

That's my 2 cents anyway.