The Making of Asian America

A History

By: Erika Lee

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

In the past 50 years, Asian Americans have helped change the face of America and are now the fastest growing group in the United States. The Making of Asian America tells the little-known history of Asian Americans and their role in American life, from the arrival of the first Asians in the Americas to the present-day.

An epic history of global journeys and new beginnings, this book shows how generations of Asian immigrants and their American-born descendants have made and remade Asian American life in the United States. From the sailors who came on the first trans-Pacific ships in the 1500s to the Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and South Asian immigrants who were recruited to work in the United States, only to face massive racial discrimination, and from the Asian exclusion laws of the 19th century to Japanese American incarceration during World War II, this is a comprehensive history.

Over the past 50 years, a new Asian America has emerged out of community activism and the arrival of new immigrants and refugees. No longer a "despised minority", Asian Americans are now held up as America's "model minorities" in ways that reveal the complicated role that race still plays in the United States.

Published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the passage of the United States' Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which has remade our "nation of immigrants", this is a new and definitive history of Asian Americans. But more than that, it is a new way of understanding America itself, its complicated histories of race and immigration, and its place in the world today.

©2015 Erika Lee (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An impressive work that details how this diverse population has both swayed and been affected by the United States." ( Library Journal)

A remarkable chronicle with a brilliant mind

This is a non-novel book that you expected to learn a lot after reading, while you may not want to get a textbook with too much rigor. And this book does exactly that, and even more. With the clear storyline and context in each period, I learned a very clear picture in my mind about Asian American, mainly the immigrants in the past 150 years.

Heartbreaking

Our history at times is so disappointing but we need to know the truth and learn each other’s journey so that we can come together for understanding and healing.

Excellent content. Terrible narration.

This book is very well organized as it addressed how individuals from many Asian nationalities helped shape Asian America. I found the stories helpful in understanding the full picture.

The narration made getting through this important content brutal. The monotone vocal quality and poor inflection ability made the book drag. My son happened to hear about 10 seconds of it and reacted saying how boring it sounded.

The untold stories of immigrants from the east

Great history of most groups of Asians migrating to the US. Learned a lot. I’m surprised and amazed by the pronunciation of the various Asian names or languages. Great job reading! A nice general Asian American history course.

Great comprehensive overview of Asian American History... so far

As a "student" of Asian history I've been looking for a book like this for a while and it didn't disappoint. It gives insight in to the struggles, social injustices, challenges as well as successes experienced by Americans with roots in East, South, and Southeast Asia. Will have a second listen soon.