Product Description

Introducing this collection of personal narratives, renowned author Sucheng Chan presents a history of Vietnam that enables readers to understand the larger historical, social, and political contexts within which the refugee exodus occurred between 1975 and 1997. The heart of the book consists of vivid personal testimonies written by members of the 1.5 generation of Vietnamese Americans when they were students at various campuses of the University of California. Six of the stories recall the April 1975 evacuation on U.S. military aircraft and naval vessels; nine tell tragic but ultimately triumphant tales of the "boat people" who fled by sea and were confined in refugee camps in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Hong Kong while awaiting resettlement abroad. As testaments to the strength of human beings who persevere against severe odds in horrifying circumstances, the stories are gripping and inspiring. The book's bibliography and videography serve as guides to students, teachers, and other readers who may be interested in more in-depth knowledge about particular topics.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #179185 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 344 pages

Review
"The autobiographical accounts reveal key themes in the Vietnamese American experience and address important historiographical topics...this book contributes to refugee history, an important if understudied aspect of the immigrant experience. Includes a useful bibliography and videography. Highly recommended. Choice "Sucheng Chan's groundbreaking book boldly addresses issues within American Studies that remain largely ignored or avoided. The book may focus on Vietnamese Americans, yet it poignantly and explicitly reflects upon Asian American Studies as a field of study. Chan addresses the field's tensions between capitalism and Communism and between pedagogy and politics--all while highlighting the complexities of Vietnamese American experiences...The student-written narratives in the book are themselves a refreshing and unique approach for Vietnamese American Studies and Asian American Studies...This book will be valuable to both trained scholars and novice students of Vietnamese Americans." The Journal of American Ethnic History

From the Publisher
Riveting stories by refugees who fled Vietnam

From the Back Cover
"The cities north of us had been captured and we were next in line as the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops marched south towards Saigon. Our village would soon become the site of an upcoming battle. In a state of panic, we villagers quickly evacuated our homes and tried to find a sanctuary as we moved towards Saigon.... Two days after we left our village, we heard about the bloody battles being fought. Many wild stories about the torture used by the Viet Cong reached our ears. My oldest brother, who was about twenty, had stayed behind in the village to help the South Vietnamese army. Later, we found out that he died of bullet wounds four days after we evacuated that village." Excerpt from "A Journey Called Freedom"

Customer Reviews

Excellent book, especially for other 1.5 generation Asian Americans
Someone who is "1.5 Generation" is someone who immigrated to America at a very young age, not quite 1st generation and not quite 2nd generation. This book is excellent for those like me, who are of this generation.

I completely agree with Smallchief's review. Half of the book is a quick history of the American involvement in Vietnam and the refugee process that followed that period.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a 1.5 generation immigrant from Vietnam or who has any close friends or family from this group.

Refugee Lives
The sub-title of this book is "Stories of War, Revolution, Flight, and New Beginnings." That about sums it up. Sucheng Chan, a well-known Southeast Asian scholar, edited the book which consists mostly of contributions by her Vietnamese students at the University of California in Santa Barbara. The book begins with 100 pages covering briefly the history of Vietnam, the Vietnam War, and the refugee crisis in its aftermath. We then have 150 pages of personal accounts by 15 Vietnamese American students of their escapes from Vietnam and and lives in America.

The book is hardly unique as rooms could be filled with books about the Vietnam War and about Vietnamese living in the U.S., and quite a few of them have delved more deeply than this one. The virtues of "The Vietnamese American 1.5 Generation" are a good introduction, well written background chapters, an epilog by the editor --a former refugee -- good notes and a good bibliography. The concept of a collaboration between students and teacher is also interesting and is fully explained in the introduction.

Smallchief