It [the book] should be in all libraries concerned with diversity and Asian politics in the U.S. Essential. All levels. * Choice Reviews *
This is a splendid collection. It brings together important historical documents and some of the most current analyses of Asian Pacific American politics. Professors Nakanishi and Lai have also provided succinct overviews that will be extremely helpful to newcomers to the field, making this volume valuable to everyone from specialists to introductory students. -- Andrew L. Aoki, Augsburg College
This important book edited by Don T. Nakanishi and James S. Lai offers us one of the best historical and contemporary analyses of Asian Pacific American politics in America today. One of the important things one asks of a book is—'can it stand the test of time?' This book will meet that standard and more. -- Michael B. Preston, University of Southern California
This book brings together original sources on key topics influencing AA politics, knit together by scholars who introduce each subject and place it in context with political events and the greater emerging literature. * Pacific Citizen *
Asian Americans helped build this country, helped forge its laws, helped realize its bedrock values of equality and democracy. Some see us as foreign, and yet, as this book shows, we were there, marching in the streets, fighting in the courts, speaking out at every turn in the making of American law, culture, and politics. -- Mari Matsuda, co-author with Charles Lawrence of We Won't Go Back: Making the Case for Affirmative Action
In the space of a single volume, this remarkable book offers a comprehensive revelation of the colorful and intricately woven threads in the complex tapestry of Asian American political life, from the 19th-century skirmishes with the Supreme Court to contemporary policy issues. Don T. Nakanishi and James S. Lai have accomplished a feat of significant proportion by joining their sweeping historical scope and a panoply of incisive analyses with the voices of Asian Americans in their own contexts. The result is both provocative and insightful. -- Helen Zia, author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People
What makes this volume valuable for Asian Americanists is that it not only identifies and discusses a range of issues that we must examine in our efforts to understand Asian American politics, but that it also offers and maintains a methodologically inclusive approach. This book will inspire further critical examination of the political activities of Asian Americans, and will generate a variety of research regarding Asian Americans and their quest for political empowerment. * Journal of Asian American Studies *