Unbound feet : a social history of Chinese women in San Francisco /

Historian Judy Yung's work fills a big void in Asian American and women's studies literature. She focuses on Chinese women in San Francisco, from their time of entry into the US in the late 19th century through WW II. Working from dual outsider/insider perspectives as a trained historian but also as daughter of one of her subjects, Yung skillfully documents, retells, and analyzes the life experiences of these women as immigrants and as daughters and wives of immigrants, marginalized by their race, class, and gender statuses. Interwoven into the sociohistorical text and analysis are numerous mininarratives and personal testimonies of three generations of Chinese women spanning more than 50 years of collective memory. Their stories demonstrate expected hardships and heartbreaks, but above all, the pragmatic behavior of these mostly ordinary yet often remarkable women to adapt and survive in the US. Educated, middle-class women, their views on gender roles and relations were mainly influenced by Chinese nationalism, Christianity, and acculturation into American ways of thinking and doing. All levels. E. Hu-DeHart; University of Colorado at Boulder

Yung (Chinese Women of America: A Pictorial History, Univ. of Washington Pr., 1986) has written a thorough and engrossing social history of Chinese women in San Francisco, from the turn of the century through the end of World War II. Using oral history interviews, unpublished autobiographies, government census reports, and English- and Chinese-language newspapers, Yung illuminates the larger canvas of social change with the stories of specific women from the first and second generations and their quests to improve their lives. The book is particularly valuable for its analysis of class differences within the Chinese community (merchant, peasant, bound servant, etc.), which created even more obstacles for Chinese women to overcome. This work offers engrossing reading; highly recommended for academic and public libraries.‘Katharine L. Kan, Aiea P.L., Hawaii (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.