Vietnamese American 1.5 Generation

Sucheng Chan is Professor Emerita of Asian American Studies and Global Studies at the University of California. She is the recipient of many prizes and author or editor of numerous books, including Claiming America: Constructing Chinese American Identities During the Exclusion Era (Temple, co-edited with Scott Wong), which won the Outstanding Book Award in History and Social Sciences from the Association for Asian Studies.

"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

• Preface Acknowledgments Vietnamese Names Part I: Historical Overview Chapter 1. Vietnam before the Mid-nineteenth Century Chapter 2. French Colonial Rule and Vietnamese Resistance Chapter 3. Communism and Nationalism Chapter 4. The 1945 August Revolution Chapter 5. The First Indochina War Chapter 6. The American Involvement in Vietnam Chapter 7. The Fall of Saigon and Its Aftermath Chapter 8. The Plight of the Ethnic Chinese in Vietnam Chapter 9. An International Refugee Crisis Chapter 10. Ending the Indochinese Refugee Exodus Part II: Stories of War, Revolution, Flight, and New Beginnings Chapter 11. A Tragedy: From Vietnam to America Chapter 12. A Journey Called Freedom Chapter 13. My Autobiography Chapter 14. How It Feels to be an Asian American Chapter 15. Integrity Through Change Chapter 16. A Place to Call Home Chapter 17. The Coming of Age of a Chinese-Vietnamese American Chapter 18. My Father and I Chapter 19. The Pain in My Heart Chapter 20. The Never Ending Struggle Chapter 21. An Unfinished Journey Chapter 22. From Vietnam to Germany to the United States Chapter 23. Vietnam Memories in America Chapter 24. My Transition to Being an Asian American Chapter 25. At That Time in My Life Epilogue Notes Selected Bibliography Selected Videography Index