Aiiieeeee! an Anthology of Asian-American Writers

Rating:
Summary: Asians are as biased as the White People they complain about
Review: Aiiieeeee! was a horrible book. I used it to write my research paper for Honors English in Asian Studies. If you buy this book, you'll find that the editors of Aiiieeeee!, while complaining about how white people discriminate against Asians by combining them all into the subcategory of "Oriental" or "Chinese," segregating the term "Asian" to mean only Chinese, Japanese or Filipino. What happens to the Thai-American writers, or the Vietnamese-American writers? Even of the three groups the editors choose to include in the book, the one that is the most prolific is that of the Chinese. Aiiieeeee! is a book that, while it has some interesting content, is terribly hypocritical and not worthy of being placed on the bookshelf of even the most avid Asian-American booklover.

Rating:
Summary: what?
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: what?
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: first anthology of asian american writing
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Ground Breaking!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Ground Breaking!
Review: 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.