A “comprehensive…fascinating†(The New York Times Book Review) history of Asian Americans and their role in American life; by one of the nation’s preeminent scholars on the subject.In the past fifty years; Asian Americans have helped change the face of America and are now the fastest growing group in the United States. But much of their long history has been forgotten. “In her sweeping; powerful new book; Erika Lee considers the rich; complicated; and sometimes invisible histories of Asians in the United States†(Huffington Post). The Making of Asian America shows how generations of Asian immigrants and their American-born descendants have made and remade Asian American life; from sailors who came on the first trans-Pacific ships in the 1500 to the Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. Over the past fifty 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 fifty years after the passage of the United States’ Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965; these “powerful Asian American stories…are inspiring; and Lee herself does them justice in a book that is long overdue†(Los Angeles Times). But more than that; The Making of Asian America is an “epic and eye-opening†(Minneapolis Star-Tribune) new way of understanding America itself; its complicated histories of race and immigration; and its place in the world today.
#1681730 in Books 2016-01-20 2016-01-20Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.30 x 1.00 x 6.30l; 1.30 #File Name: 1473852749256 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Building; not just fightingBy BetsyExcellent look at the lines which proved so important to the British/Portuguese forces in 1810 when the French invaded Portugal for the third time as part of Napoleon's effort to subdue the Iberian Peninsula. The author tells the story of the building of the redoubts as well as the battles which took place in Portugal before and after the Lines were occupied.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. worth readingBy Dr. S. R. Hill Jr.Probably has only a limited audience; but for those interested in the Peninsula War; definitely worth reading.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. The Famed Lines of Torres Vedras...By HMS WarspiteFirst published in 2000; John Grehan's "The Lines of Torres Vedras" is almost unique among histories of the Peninsular War for its focus on the famous fortifications around which British General Wellington planned his defense of Portugal in 1810-1811.Grehan begins with a quick introduction to the Peninsular War; before devoting three chapters to the concept and construction of the Lines. His description is exhaustive in detail and fascinating with respect to its place in Lord Wellington's rather ruthless strategy to defend Portugal from French Imperial forces.French Marshal Messina's Army of Portugal invaded as expected in 1810. The highly disciplined Lord Wellington avoided a pitched battle until his Anglo-Portuguese Army was situated on the excellent defensive position of Bussaco in September 1810. After defeating Messina's clumsy assault; the Anglo-Portuguese Army retired into the Lines; there to stare down the French until the spring of 1811.Grehan continues his narrative through the Battle of Fuentes d'Onoro in May 1811; where Wellington defeated Messina's last attempt to reenter Portugal. Grehan's concluding chapter makes a candid and carefully reasoned crtique of Wellington's conduct of the campaign of 1810-1811; finding much to admire and some to criticize. "The Lines of Torres Vedras" is very highly recommended to students of the Peninsular War for its focus on the Lines and the crucial role they played in the eventual Allied victory.
