Donald Duk: A Novel
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • interesting
  • Horrible
  • ah king!
  • Definite Eye-Opener
  • The Ultimate Dream
Donald Duk: A Novel
Frank Chin
Manufacturer: Coffee House Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0918273838

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars interesting.......2007-01-04

pretty interesting but a kind of bad ending. the book has an interesting beginning though.

2 out of 5 stars Horrible.......2006-08-07

Frank Chin uses 3rd person to go through the novel. What? Is he trying to question our competancy? It's and incredibly dull and boring book and is about a boy who dislikes being chinese. He wants to be a famous dancer-- so why doesn't he just do it. I mean it doesn't matter if you're chinese or not. Really, the book is about a kid who is so emo over his ethnicity, it just sickens me. Shut up and quit complaining. Only a few interesting dreams but that's it.

4 out of 5 stars ah king!.......2006-03-27

this book was good. it was interesting to read. it has 2 messages that i found.

5 out of 5 stars Definite Eye-Opener.......2005-06-16

First of all, I am surprised that not many people have read or even heard of this book. Why is it that America eats up all the stereotypical, sell-out Asian-American literature and denies something as real and tangible as Frank Chin's "Donald Duk"? Instead we are force-fed Amy Tan. And don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading Amy Tan, she is a very engaging writer, however, the average reader does not know where to draw the line between fiction and fact. They assume that because Amy Tan is Asian, every word that spills across the pages of her works is the solid truth. It is important for people to understand this distinction before reading any literature, lest they mistake fiction writing for truth and buy into the stereotypes presented by the author. Unfortunately, most people cannot make this distinction and their knowledge of Asian/Asian-American culture is limited to what they read in "The Joy Luck Club" and other such works.

Whew! That was quite a rant :) Back to the review:

Frank Chin is NOT Amy Tan. On the surface, "Donald Duk" presents itself as a light-hearted, comedic read. In fact, the entire premise of this novel seems silly, as do the characters. However, beneath the surface lie some serious questions about culture, identity, and racism. With its rich portrayal of history and culture, "Donald Duk" challenges the abundant stereotypes and misrepresented histories often present in American culture. Paired with Chin's vibrant and crisp writing style (It took me a few pages before I warmed-up to his style, but once I did I was hooked), the end result is a novel that manages to be eye-opening without being preachy. A feat that is seldom accomplished. I don't say this often, but I love this book. "Donald Duk" is an entertaining, albeit important, novel that should be introduced to more readers.

4 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Dream.......2004-09-30

Growing up, there was always that one person you wanted to be. That one person you were reminded of everyday in the media that seemed so much more glamorous than your average lifestyle. For Donald Duk, being Chinese wasn't quite satisfying enough. He dreamt about being Fred Astaire, his Americanized idol. The whole novel bases its message on being happy with what you got, something I feel important growing up in a self-centered America.
Donald is a 12 year old boy living in the streets of Chinatown in San Francisco. His life experiences are similar to the stereotyped foreigner. He gets made fun of by the Chinatown bullies, leaving him with no self-respect and dignity for himself. He realizes the stereotypical aspects of American-Chinese and it drives him to unhealthily hate himself. I think the message of this book can reach out to so many people who are in similar situations with their social life.
The novel puts Donald in a period of life where self image starts to become an important thing. I could really connect to this because around the same period of my life, this was also important. He wants to just be American so bad that he has negativity for all things Chinese. Hatred is found in several ways including food, culture, and way of life. He hates the weird foods; he hates the embarrassing, easy to baffle names including his. Donald is constantly being made fun of by his ridiculous link to the Walt Disney Donald Duck. Even his mother's name is Daisy. He even hates his uncle who performs Chinese opera seldom at him school; imagine that. Even his best friend appreciates the culture more than he does. Basically he would do anything to be anything but Chinese. I know I've been so ungrateful at times. After reading this novel, you feel much more self-assured. You don't get that much in literature.
This book contains good balance to imply the message with the introduction of Donald's father, King Duk. He is the wise, old man carrying mentoring features for Donald. If it weren't for his father, Donald would be lost in American culture. He shows him how to adapt instead of completely transform. He makes it important that instead of being laughed at, laugh with. You don't gain much knowledge with out experience.
If you're not familiar with Chinese culture, some parts of the book can be a little cloudy. There were some parts that I could get completely lost in, but the ultimate message shined through. The dreams that he endures about being an underground rail-road builder in the 1800's is what turns him around. The dream sequences were my favorite, switching the story up with eccentric details. He finds out that the Chinese are just as creditable as anyone else and have received no recognition for it. He starts to appreciate where he has come from, becoming a happier person. The adaptation process starts to come easy to him, making him proud of his individualism.
Sometimes you just need the help of others to see more clearly. For Donald, his dreams opened up the passageway for him. Also, through the help of his family and friends, he could actually start to enjoy himself. Chinese culture is one that holds a lot of values. Back in China, death could even result from breaking this. Throughout the book, the main values presented were family, respect, and righteousness. Frank Chin did a very good job of combining freedom of choice by America with the traditional values of Chinese. This is a book we could all learn a little from.
Chickencoop Chinaman and the Year of the Dragon
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A Tiny Revolution
  • Frank Chin is the first Asian American, brave enough,
  • This Is The 1st Azn Am Play to be Professionally Produced...
Chickencoop Chinaman and the Year of the Dragon
Frank Chin
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0295958332

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars A Tiny Revolution.......2003-05-08

Although it's true that his plays can sometimes be crude and sophomoric, there are passages in "The Chickencoop Chinaman" that foretell Mr. Chin's eventual success as an essayist and novelist - particularly in wistful and mournful monologues from the protagonist, in direct address to the audience, about childhood heroes (believing, for example, that The Lone Ranger was certainly Chinese behind that mask), and other dynamic movements that capture, and inspire, a sense of the spirit and discovery that must have permeated the burgeoning Asian-American movement of the 1970s.

"The Year Of The Dragon", conversely, is more typically a real "play", structurally conforming with classic American modes of expression.

5 out of 5 stars Frank Chin is the first Asian American, brave enough,.......2002-05-11

to challenge the stereotypes of Chinese. You need only read these famous lines in Chickencoop Chinaman: "Chinamen are made, not born, my dear. Out of junk-imports, lies, railraod scrap iron, dirty jokes, broken bottles, cigar smoke, Cosquilla Indian blood, wino spit, and lots of milk of amnesia." It's no wonder that this play is the first Asian American play produced off-Broadway. It is controversial (for good reason), angry, and thought-provoking. Did you know that George Takei played Fred Eng in The Year of the Dragon?

5 out of 5 stars This Is The 1st Azn Am Play to be Professionally Produced..........2001-09-26

...in America! That alone should give you a reason to read these important plays. These plays caused an uproar of controversy and discussion. Why? Because many Westerners (and Westernized Asians) had no clue of what it really meant to be Asian. Do you? If not, you should start by reading Chickencoop Chinaman or Year of the Dragon. If you would like a more academic discussion on this controversy you should purchase THE BIG AIIIEEEEE!....
The Big Aiiieeeee!
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Fresh and Different.
  • It's a matter of history.
  • Thoroughly engrossing!
  • A Must Read!
  • I'm Filipino
The Big Aiiieeeee!

Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452010764

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Fresh and Different........2003-10-22

I am a proud owner of the Big Aiiiieee. It is absolutely refreshing to hear from other voices than the popular writers such as Tan, Kingston, and Hwang. Chin certainly has made many great and valid points. Tan, Kingston, and Hwang, together, represent a body of cultural sensationalism against especially 'Asian American' men. I agree with Chin on many points; however, Tan, Kingston, and Hwang are wholly to be blamed.
First of all, the term "Asian American" should be eradicated. I am not an Asian American. I am a Chinese-Vietnamese American, as specific as that. With that in mind, this anthology is mainly composed of Chinese and Japanese-American perspectives. Where are representational voices of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, and South Asian people (India, Parkistan, Burma).
Secondly, I agree with Mr. Chin that Tan's and Kingston's portrayal of Chinese culture is primitive and backward. Tan's Joy Luck Club contains lot of images that promote cultural sensationalism and exoticism. For example, An Mei's mother cuts her flesh from her arm and dumps them into her grandmother's soup. The non-asian readers will subsequently thrive on this stereotype and apply it for all "Asians." This is like another form of canibalism. Another example of cultural sensationalism is the uncle eating live, jumping shrimps with his chopsticks (or Did I miss something?). As for Kingston, the Woman Warrior clearly was written with an intention as a feminist piece. Because there is no greatly equal novel to dispute its exaggerated feminism, mainstream readers take this as a true portrayal of Chinese/Asian men -- brutal rapists.
Furthermore and on a positive note, what makes this anthology fresh is the fact that it includes other fresh(not new)but neglected voices such as Louis Chu, John Okana, Monica Sone, Gish Jen, and so on, writers that are not given a fair chance in mainstream publishing.
Finally, I think this is a great anthology. Unfortunately, it does not truly represent me and my Vietnamese American community. What I got from reading this anthology is a sense of freshness as far as perspective is concerned; however, emotionally, I am more identified with Flannery O'connor, Toni Morrison, and Duong Thu Huong.
For those dire fans of Mr. Chin and harsh critics of interracial relationship: He married a caucasian woman, so are some of his colleagues.
Beware of whom you worship!

5 out of 5 stars It's a matter of history........2002-04-26

Since the publication of this book, it has been criticized for it's "machismo, misogynist" morale. Guess who these criticisms are coming from? White feminists (or those who support them). They cannot look beyond history and textual matter, instead they force and assume their principles and try (and unforunately, they succeeded) to make this a battle of Women's rights. I have read Chin's "Come All Ye Asian American Writers of the Real and of the Fake" and in nowhere is there any misogynistic dictum. Why? Because this isn't a matter of Women's views or MEN'S! It's about history and how it should be interpreted. People like Kingston, Hwang, and Tan want to deconstruct Asian American history. Feminists want to help Kingston's and Tan's deconstructive views by arbitrarily labeling Chin as a misogynist. If Chin or the editors of The Big Aiiieeeee! were misogynist why would they have women writers in this anthology? Just because there aren't that many women writers doesn't mean it's totally and utterly sexist. Could it be because there aren't that many authentic Asian American women writers?! If there are no authentic texts to Asia America, would it hurt to say that stereotypes (or whatever) are actually right?

5 out of 5 stars Thoroughly engrossing!.......2002-03-03

This is a great anthology on Asian American history that's well worth your time to read!

5 out of 5 stars A Must Read!.......2002-03-02

What gives people like Amy Tan, Maxine Hong Kingston, and David Henry Hwang the right to take my cultural distinctions and cater it to a white audience who want the stereotypical Chinese?! I'm glad Frank Chin exposed these sell-outs in this important book. There are Asians who are far from being these sorts of stereotypes described in the literatures of Tan, Kingston, and Hwang, and these editors prove it. Read this book and you'll find that out yourself.

5 out of 5 stars I'm Filipino.......2002-02-09

and I know how much these editors helped my ethnicity in the first Aiiieeeee! These people (Chan, Chin, Inada, and Wong) know their stuff, and they're not ashamed of their cutlure. They are unassimilated, brave, talented, and strong. You would be more proud of your Asian race after reading this book.
Writing Manhood in Black and Yellow: Ralph Ellison, Frank Chin, and the Literary Politics of Identity (Asian America)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Writing Manhood in Black and Yellow: Ralph Ellison, Frank Chin, and the Literary Politics of Identity (Asian America)
    Daniel Kim
    Manufacturer: Stanford University Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0804751099
    Release Date: 2005-10-14

    Book Description

    This book examines cultural representations of African American and Asian American masculinity, focusing primarily on the major works of two influential figures, Ralph Ellison and Frank Chin. It highlights the language of gender and sexuality that writers use to depict the psychological injuries inflicted by racism on men of color—a language that relies on metaphors of emasculation.

    The book focuses on how homosexuality comes to function as a powerful symbol for a feminizing racism, and explains why this disturbing symbolism proves to be so rhetorically and emotionally effective. This study also explores the influential concept of literature that these writers promote—a view of writing as a cultural and political activity capable of producing the most virile and racially authentic forms of manhood. In comparing African American and Asian American writings, this book offers the first scholarly account of how black and yellow conceptions of masculinity are constructed in relation to each other.

    Chinaman Pacific and Frisco R.R. Co.: Short Stories
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Meet Frank Chin, The Writer
    • Entertaining right to the end
    Chinaman Pacific and Frisco R.R. Co.: Short Stories
    Frank Chin
    Manufacturer: Coffee House Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0918273447

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Meet Frank Chin, The Writer.......2002-03-01

    Often people say that Frank Chin is an activist. This is true, but we shouldn't forget that he is also a writer. After all, it was his play Chickencoop Chinaman that help open doors for Asian American artists. In this book you will read eight great short stories by Frank Chin. The stories include: "Railroad Standard Time", "The Eat and Run Midnight People", "The Chinatown Kid", "The Only Real Day", "Yes, Young Daddy", "Give the Enemy Sweet Sissies and Women to Infatuate Him, and Jades and Silks to Blind Him with Greed", "A Chinese Lady Dies", and "The Sons of Chan". After reading these stories, you will understand why Chin won the American Book Award.

    5 out of 5 stars Entertaining right to the end.......2000-07-31

    If you liked Frank Chin's book Donald Duk, and enjoy the short story collections that are sprouting like weeds these days, you'll like this one. :)

    And if you liked Maxine Hong Kingston's book The Woman Warrior, and know how much Mr. Chin doesn't like the Mulan spoof Kingston put it, then read the Afterword to this volume (this one alone is a laugh and a half).
    Bulletproof Buddhists (Intersections - Asian and Pacific AmericanTranscultural Studies)
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Bullet-Proof Buddhists: The Real Deal
    • A book I can personally relate too
    • A Pleasure To Read
    • Yes
    • Frank Chin combs the landscape of Chinese American culture
    Bulletproof Buddhists (Intersections - Asian and Pacific AmericanTranscultural Studies)
    Frank Chin
    Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0824819594

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Bullet-Proof Buddhists: The Real Deal.......2002-12-22

    Frank Chin's collection of essays is magnificent. The book is a course in itself on the authenticity of the Chinese-American experience in American culture. Chin's ideas are well researched, even scholarly in origin, but they are presented in ways that are eminently accessible. Each of the essays is provocative of the reader's thinking. I loved the essay on "Lowe Hoy & the 3 Legged Toad", for its exposition of strategy in Chinese social experience, and for its use of authentic Cantonese colloquialisms in his interviewees' speech.

    5 out of 5 stars A book I can personally relate too.......2001-10-30

    Excellent book! Some events bring me back to my childhood years growing up in the Bay area.

    5 out of 5 stars A Pleasure To Read.......2001-09-20

    I love the essays of Frank Chin. I just wished that the editor would put in "Racist Love" in this anthology. Anyway, this book is a treat because you'll have a commentary of Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR. Over and over again I've heard Chin mention how well ART OF WAR reflects Asian thinking. Well, it's now available to you guys, written by Frank Chin himself!

    5 out of 5 stars Yes.......1999-09-19

    This book is a work of art. I loved every page of it. Thank you Mr. Chin

    5 out of 5 stars Frank Chin combs the landscape of Chinese American culture.......1998-11-26

    There is no question that when it comes to specific, focused cultural criticism, Frank Chin has the task nailed down. I don't know the time frame spanned by these essays, but in terms of content they cover all the bases. Any student of Asian-American history and culture can profit from Chin's sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes frightfully serious analysis of several aspects of the Asian-American experience. Chin deals with immigration/migration; gang subcultures; folk history and mythology; and others. But the thing that makes this book so impressive, beyond its coverage, is Chin's writing style -- fast and loose, comfortable and razor-sharp. The jacket describes him as a "literary gangster" -- never have I heard a more apt description of an author. He wrangles words from the oral histories he obtains and makes them work for him. But he is a respectful gangster -- the subjects of his interviews seem open, warm to him and to his neverending questions. The text can get heavy at times, but this is a function of the content it taps. A very, very powerful book.
    Gunga Din Highway: A Novel
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Frank Chin, the bitter broken record
    • Big Book About A Big Star And His Progeny
    • Frank Chin is
    • My Favorite Azn Am Book of All Time
    • My Favorite Book by Frank Chin
    Gunga Din Highway: A Novel
    Frank Chin
    Manufacturer: Coffee House Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    Chin, FrankChin, Frank | Asian American | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 1566890373

    Amazon.com

    Ever want to become an actor? Longman Kwan dreams of playing Charlie Chan in the movies but instead finds himself stuck in dead-end roles, quite literally, as minor Chinese characters who die. Providing hilarious insight into Longman's patient humor, the novel is also filled with references to pop culture icons--TV, actors, movies. The Village Voice calls Chin a "literary gangster" with a method to his madness. His novel indeed takes us on a furious tour of four decades, from the '50s to today, showcasing the lives of a dreamer father and his cynical son.

    Book Description

    a novel, following Chin's bestselling DONALD DUK

    Customer Reviews:

    2 out of 5 stars Frank Chin, the bitter broken record.......2006-01-12

    I read this book because I liked Donald Duk, which was required for one of my literature classes. This book here recycled everything from Donald Duk. But instead of focusing on the valid discourse surrounding the ethnic appropriation of history, he bashes other writers such as Maxine Hong Kingston (using tired arguments - right or not, we already get it!) and tells people explicitly what what he thinks is crap or not in writing, but based only on a paranoid fear of being a stereotypical, effeminate Chinese. I did not enjoy reading it, but no one who does can be left with any doubts as to where Frank Chin stands. Which would be no problem if he either had said something new or had said expanded upon his previous valid ideas. This book is simply a rant, and undermines his previous work. Please read Donald Duk instead.

    5 out of 5 stars Big Book About A Big Star And His Progeny.......2005-10-12

    Picked up this one down at the big sale at Fort Mason, here in San Francisco, to benefit the victims of the earthquake that has devastated Pakistan and killed 20,000 Pakistanis. Tables were piled high with books, many signed by their authors, men and women who had donated them to a good cause. Many were in Asian languages I couldn't even read, but one or two of these I bought for Asian friends. This book, GUNGA DIN HIGHWAY, proved a delightful surprise. In a way, the book it reminds me most of is an oldie, the BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN from the 1950s, by Wallace Stegner, with its multi-generational narrative and its expansive, troubling vision of the USA. In other ways it has some of the zany hippie humor you find in something like Tom Robbins' JITTERBUG PERFUME or EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES. Either way, it's a winner. And especially if you have an interest in cultural issues, for Frank Chin, the author, is a topnotch commentator with a waspish wit who absolutely hates the Charlie Chan movies.

    Our hero is the Number Four Son, that is, he once upon a time played the eager son of the great Chinese detective Charlie Chan, at a time when (the fictional) white actor, Anlauf Loraine, played Chan, the fourth white actor to do so. Oddly, our hero Longman Senior has an intense relationship with his peers, the other Asian American actors who didn't get to play the father, but were always relegated to playing the son, including the real-life stars Victor Sen Yung, Benson Fong and Keye Luke, all of whom are dissed in context of the character. Longman and his wife, Hyacinth, name their first born American son, Ulysses, after the famous banned modernist novel by James Joyce, and thus it's no wonder that Ulysses grows up to be, well, as one of his girlfriends puts it, "oversexed."

    Through the 1950s and 1960s, the novel shows us a panoramic view of the sexual and cultural awakenings of several families whose lives intertwine in New York, Oakland, Seattle, Honolulu, Portland and Frisco. Pandora Toy is an alluring, freshly conceived and brilliant young writer, who hooks up with Ulysses, which distances him somewhat from his kinship with his "blood brother," the actor Ben Mo. Chin's pictures of bohemian living, young people too poor to buy a house, and almost too poor to sign a lease, yet thriving in big city energy, might have come out of the musical RENT. It's a long book, but no longer than, say, THE GRAPES OF WRATH or THE MAN WITHOUT QUALITIES, two other 20th century novels that came to mind while I flipped through the pages of GUNGA DIN HIGHWAY. You should be able to read it over and over again, for such is its quality, that no sooner are you done with the final chapter, then you'll be wanting to start it from the beginning, like some kind of Mobius strip of Asian American experience.

    5 out of 5 stars Frank Chin is.......2002-02-09

    always a pleasure to read. You won't be sorry if you buy this book!

    5 out of 5 stars My Favorite Azn Am Book of All Time.......2001-09-26

    The dialogue is priceless in this novel! I'm going to read it again and again. It takes place mostly in the 60s, where our hero, Ulysses, grows up as a brakeman for the railroad. His father is a movie star who banks off of what Frank Chin calls the white "racist love" of America. What would that be? Well, being Charlie Chan's son, being a "neurotic, exotic" Asian, being a prostitute, dragon lady, or an effeminate, passive individual; all in all, having a westernized expectation of an Asian. Our hero, Ulysses, is the true Chinaman and you should make an effort to read this book.

    5 out of 5 stars My Favorite Book by Frank Chin.......2001-09-19

    I liked it more than DONALD DUK (although, I loved that book), because it's a step higher in experiencing how it is to be a Chinaman. Frank Chin has changed my life, but no other book has done it more than this one. Incidentally, Chin happened to be the first Asian in history to get a play produced in America. If you're interested, you should get it here ... Since his play came out it caused a storm of controversy, as this one will too.
    Born in the USA: A Story of Japanese America, 1889-1947 (Pacific Formations, Global Relations in Asian and Pacific Perspectives)
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Born in the USA: A Story of Japanese America, 1889-1947 (Pacific Formations, Global Relations in Asian and Pacific Perspectives)
      Frank Chin
      Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

      GeneralGeneral | 19th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | 20th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
      JapanJapan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | World | History | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | Asian American | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
      Ethnic StudiesEthnic Studies | Special Groups | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
      ASIN: 0742518523

      Book Description

      This unique oral history presents the Japanese American saga as told by those who lived through it. Frank Chin details the lives of first and second generation Japanese Americans before World War II with a rich kaleidoscope of images drawn from interviews, popular songs, novels, and newspaper articles. The heart of his story is the tragedy that followed the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when Japanese American citizens lost their homes and property and were forced into internment camps. The author deftly weaves interviews and testimony from the Japanese American Citizen's League (JACL) with opposing, in-depth conversations with those who resisted the JACL's support for U.S. policy. This shameful episode in American history resonates deeply today as we witness similar erosions of civil rights in the name of wartime security.
      Advance Comics Number 60 (Consumer Edition)
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Advance Comics Number 60 (Consumer Edition)
        Peter David , Martin Wagner , David Quinn , Jae Lee , Erik Larsen , Don Chin , Tatsuya Ishida , Mike Baron , and Steve Rude
        Manufacturer: Advance Comics
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

        GeneralGeneral | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
        GeneralGeneral | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
        ASIN: B000SR0KRS

        Product Description

        Flip covers. Comic order book interspersed with interviews, previews, and articles. Includes bound-in poster of hellshock by Jae Lee.
        Aiiieeeee!
        Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
        • what?
        • Ground Breaking!
        • first anthology of asian american writing
        • Ground Breaking!
        Aiiieeeee!
        Frank Chin
        Manufacturer: DoubleDay
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Mass Market Paperback

        GeneralGeneral | Asian American | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
        ASIN: 0385012438

        Customer Reviews:

        5 out of 5 stars what?.......2003-10-28

        the above reviewer (m.chan) should probably bother doing a bit of research on the text before writing as an authority on its shortcomings. i recommend that he look at the original publishing date of the anthology, examine the ethnic demographics of Asian America at the time, consider what other works of Asian American criticism existed at the time, then re-examine the excellent and incisive critical essays written by the editors of this historic book.

        5 out of 5 stars Ground Breaking!.......2002-03-09

        You guys should make an effort to buy this book (if it's still around). In it, the editors expose "Asian American" authors who thought it best to represent Asian Americans by making them love "white America" in spite of their own Asian culture! For instance, Pardee Lowe has an aversion toward the tong his father is in; and in order to keep him from these "heathen chinese" he helps convert his father into Christianity (this nation's prevalent religion). You will also learn how subtle racist figures like Charlie Chan represent what whites perceive as Asianness. Bear in mind, the editors are not segregating the term Asian to mean just Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino. Rather, they are merely using Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino literature to convey (this is a part of their argument) that these different subgroups (and then some) within Asia America were not (and are not) assimilated (they did not hate their own culture to show their patriotism toward America). They open their book with "Asian Americans are not one people but several - Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Filipino Americans." They are not saying "Asian Americans are not one people but only three..." And, yes, I've met Asian Americans who are just as biased as white people, but this isn't the case that the editors are making (nor are they this way). Really, all they are doing is challenging the subtle racist stereotypical view whites have of Asians (which is a prevalent view). Some of you may not know what a stereotype of an Asian person is! Why not find out how REAL Asians are by reading this masterpiece.

        3 out of 5 stars first anthology of asian american writing.......2002-02-27

        The reviewer below misses the point. This book was the first anthology of Asian American writers to come out of the period of the founding of Ethnic Studies. It focuses soley on works by Japanese, Chinese and Pilipino Americans and features the usual suspects, Frank Chin, Carlos Bulosan, etc. It does not inlcude works by Vietnamese or Thai Americans because there was next to no immigration or even refugees from those countries immigrating pre 1965. Get your facts straight and review the text in its historical context and you will find that this text is a valuable source to capture the many dilemmas that Asian American's faced in forging an identity of their own.

        5 out of 5 stars Ground Breaking!.......2002-02-24

        You guys should make an effort to buy this book (if it's still around). In it, the editors expose "Asian American" authors who thought it best to represent Asian Americans by making them love "white America" in spite of their own Asian culture! For instance, Pardee Lowe has an aversion toward the tong his father is in; and in order to keep him from these "heathen Chinese" he helps convert his father into Christianity (this nation's prevalent religion). You will also learn how subtle racist figures like Charlie Chan represent what whites perceive as Asianness. Bear in mind, the editors are not segregating the term Asian to mean just Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino. Rather, they are merely using Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino literature to convey (this is a part of their argument) that these different subgroups (and then some) within Asia America were not (and are not) assimilated (they did not hate their own culture to show their patriotism toward America). They open their book with "Asian Americans are not one people but several - Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Filipino Americans." They are not saying "Asian Americans are not one people but only three..." And, yes, I've met Asian Americans who are just as biased as white people, but this isn't the case that the editors are making (nor are they this way). Really, all they are doing is challenging the subtle racist stereotypical view whites have of Asians (which is a prevalent view). Some of you may not know what a stereotype of an Asian person is! Why not find out how REAL Asians are by reading this masterpiece.

        Books:

        1. Dragon's Gate (Golden Mountain Chronicles, 1867)
        2. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
        3. Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter
        4. Family Pictures, 15th Anniversary Edition / Cuadros de Familia, Edición Quinceañera
        5. Feeding the Hungry Heart: The Experience of Compulsive Eating
        6. Grindhouse: The Sleaze-filled Saga of an Exploitation Double Feature
        7. Hackmaster: Little Keep on the Borderlands
        8. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America
        9. Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez
        10. Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez

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