Frank H. Wu

Much too pedantic for my tastes, and much less convincing than I'd hoped (both for my sake and for other Asian-Americans). Wu clearly is invested in his topic, but often constructs his arguments with overstuffed or just awkward sentences that end up obscuring his points instead of supporting them. Other times he makes sweeping generalizations and even once refers to himself in stereotypical terms (despite denying that such stereotypes have validity). I was even appalled by his epilogue, in which he extols a small college for balancing universality and individuality -- a college whose enrollment consists of 26 MEN -- but doesn't really support his claims with any real details about how they manage to stay individuals.

It may have been silly of me to expect that any one book could've taken on the whole gamut of race relations for all the different Asian American communities. But that is what this book promises, and fails to deliver. I did learn some things, but I feel like I would've learned more from a memoir in which Wu describes his own specific experiences and relations with race, rather than a work more given to principles and vague pronouncements about the importance of coalitions and community.… (más)