Description:
In an epic story that spans 150 years and continues to the present day, Iris Chang tells of a peoples search for a better lifethe determination of the Chinese to forge an identity and a destiny in a strange land and, often against great obstacles, to find success. She chronicles the many accomplishments in America of Chinese immigrants and their descendents: building the infrastructure of their adopted country, fighting racist and exclusionary laws, walking the racial tightrope between black and white, contributing to major scientific and technological advances, expanding the literary canon, and influencing the way we think about racial and ethnic groups. Interweaving political, social,… economic, and cultural history, as well as the stories of individuals, Chang offers a bracing view not only of what it means to be Chinese American, but also of what it is to be American.
Author bio:
Iris Chang was born in China, but emigrated to the United States with her parents while she was still a child. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where her parents were professors, and received a masters degree from Johns Hopkins University. She is a freelance writer who regularly works with The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, and the Associated Press Chang's books include Thread of the Silkworm and The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. The Rape of Nanking, in particular, involved extensive research both in the United States and abroad. It recounts the Japanese rape and slaughter of the captive population of Nanking, China, in… December, 1937 and the early part of 1938. Through the book and her lectures on the subject, Chang has been instrumental in helping the world remember the atrocities of Nanking.