Monday, June 25, 2007

"Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans," by Jean Pfaezer

You can keep your Steven King. This is the scariest book I've read in a while, and it's all true!

Pfaezler, a professor formerly at Cal State Chico, researched the ugly side of California history that the state, local Chamber of Commerce or visitor's bureau would just as soon you didn't read.

A lot of what she documents wasn't so much hidden, but ignored when it came time to recounting the "official" histories of many California communities.

It's a book you'll want to read with all the lights on and doors bolted.

1 comment:

circuitmouse said...

postscript: Reading this book left me angry, frightened and sad. Most of all, it has me wondering if we may unearth enough evidence to disprove the myth of America to which we ascribe.

Clearly, there is a basis for a wide body of actions by individuals, groups, and even the government of the United States itself, to answer the question, "Why do 'they' hate us?"

The thread of atrocities that accompanied Western Expansion from Europe to the furthest reaches of the planet, to this day, threatens the survival of virtually all life on it, making a mockery of the naive hope that the end of the cold war meant a reprieve for humanity.

"Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans" ought to be mandatory reading for law students, students of government, history, and anyone who thinks that the American flag should stand for something.

Fortunately, I have regained a fair amount of my optimism with the two two books I read following, Armistead Maupin's "Michael Tolliver Lives" and Paul Madonna's "All Over Coffee."