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Rating: Summary: Too many statistics and not enough humanism Review: I appreciated this book in the sense that it provides some very useful statistics concerning the various ethnic groups within the Asian American population. Yet, I felt that this book lacked personality and soul. I wanted more than numbers. I wanted to see the big picture about the lives of Asian Americans. I wanted to see them as people.On top of that, I think that the title perpetuates the stereotype that Asians are foreigners. An "emerging minority?" It implies that persons of Asian descent are just being noticed and just beginning to do things that are worthy of notice. Its true that not much is known in mainstream society about this community, but we have a long history in the U.S. Granted, most of the Asian American population are new immigrants, but our presence and legacy in the U.S. and in the Western hemisphere goes way back. This book is a nice introduction to the Asian American experience, but I would use it as a supplement and not a primary sourse of information. Takaki (Strangers from a Different Shore), Chan (Asian Americans: An Interpretive History) and Espiritu (Asian American Women & Men: Labor, Laws & Love)do a much better job.
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