A social history of the role of the Chinese laundry on the survival of early Chinese immigrants in the U.S.during the Chinese Exclusion law period, 1882-1943, and in Canada during the years of the Head Tax, 1885-1923, and exclusion law, 1923-1947. Why and how Chinese got into the laundry business and how they had to fight discriminatory laws and competition from white-owned laundries to survive. Description of their lives, work demands, and living conditions. Reflections by a sample of chi...

The story of how a few Chinese immigrants found their way to the Mississippi River Delta in the late 1870s and earned their living with small family operated grocery stores in neighborhoods where mostly black cotton plantation workers lived. What was their status in the segregated black and white world of that time and place? How did this small group preserve their culture and ethnic identity? "Chopsticks in the Land of Cotton"is a social history of the lives of these pioneering families a...

This memoir describes the discoveries, many unexpected, when a Chinese American psychology professor retires and reinvents himself as a public historian of Chinese in America... a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the processes involved in researching, writing, publishing, and promoting books. Writers of books on any topic will find useful information, ideas, and inspiration.

Sweet and Sour examines the history of Chinese family restaurants in the U. S. and Canada. Why did many Chinese immigrants enter this business around the end of the 19th century? What conditions made it possible for Chinese to open and succeed in operating restaurants after they emigrated to North America? How did Chinese restaurants manage to attract non-Chinese customers, given that they had little or no acquaintance with the Chinese style of food preparation an...

A history of Chinese immigrants, all bachelors except one, who settled in Macon, Georgia, where they all ran laundries starting as early as 1884. All were gone by the late 1920s, except for the only one who had a wife and children, and by 1956, they had departed leaving Macon with no Chinese residents. Why did these Chinese come to the Deep South where they were so culturally isolated during a time when extreme racial prejudices existed throughout the region? What were their lives like and...

This memoir conveys the experiences, first of my parents and subsequently of our family, the only Chinese people living in Macon, Georgia between 1928 and 1956. It describes our family's isolated existence running a laundry, enduring loneliness as well as racial prejudice for over 20 years, explains why and how we moved across the continent to live in San Francisco to be near a Chinese community, and relates how each family member adjusted to the challenges and opportunities of their new l...

A social history of the role of the Chinese laundry on the survival of early Chinese immigrants in the U.S.during the Chinese Exclusion law period, 1882-1943, and in Canada during the years of the Head Tax, 1885-1923, and exclusion law, 1923-1947. Why and how Chinese got into the laundry business and how they had to fight discriminatory laws and competition from white-owned laundries to survive. Description of their lives, work demands, and living conditions. Reflections by a sample of chi...

This memoir conveys the experiences, first of my parents and subsequently of our family, the only Chinese people living in Macon, Georgia between 1928 and 1956. It describes our family's isolated existence running a laundry, enduring loneliness as well as racial prejudice for over 20 years, why and how it moved across the continent to live in a Chinese community, and how each family member adjusted to the challenges and opportunities of their new lives.

The story of how a few Chinese immigrants found their way to the Mississippi River Delta in the late 1870s and earned their living with small family operated grocery stores in neighborhoods where mostly black cotton plantation workers lived. What was their status in the segregated black and white world of that time and place? How did this small group preserve their culture and ethnic identity? "Chopsticks in the Land of Cotton"is a social history of the lives of these pioneering families a...

"Sweet and Sour" examines the history of Chinese family restaurants in the U. S. and Canada. Why did many Chinese immigrants enter this business around the end of the 19th century What conditions made it possible for Chinese to open and succeed in operating restaurants after they emigrated to North America How did Chinese restaurants manage to attract non-Chinese customers, given that they had little or no acquaintance with the Chinese style of food preparation and many had vicious hostili...

A young, recently graduated "come-far-away" from the Canadian mainland takes his first professional job as an urban and regional planner in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in the early 1970s. Although he felt completely inept and unqualified, he is thrown into assignments where he has to make decisions for the sake of these communities in need of essential planning services.This light-hearted and engaging romp through Newfoundland was at a time when it was still seen as an...

Global Book Award Recipient:On July 6, 1957, Paul McCartney met John Lennon at a church garden party, a date which changed the face of contemporary music history. But before that, on May 18, 1957, Paul met a little brown mouse named Mozart who should go down in the annals of music history as the real beginning of the Beatles. The little brown mouse inherited a unique ability to compose music. And to speak. The little brown mouse became an unusual influence on Paul and the rest of th...