Based on solid research and deep analysis, Jingyi Song has shed new light on the study of Chinese America and the Chinese American identity. With sharp focus on the Chinese community in the New York City, Song has revealed that the Chinese Americans were not only victims of exclusion and segregation, but also tenacious fighters for their equal rights as American citizens. It is through their unprecedented broad and deep participation that the Chinese Americans reshaped their own identity and at the same time contributed to the building of a more open and inclusive American society. Song's unique approach has offered the badly needed insights to the diversity of the Chinese American community and the dynamics of the making of the Chinese American identity

Hongshan Li, Kent State University

Shaping and Reshaping Chinese American Identity provides a rare glimpse into the history of the Chinese American experience in urban America. Based on extensive multi-archival research, the author moves this study away from the usual individual-centered approach and instead looks at both groups and the community with a more balanced view at their economic, cultural, political, and intellectual interactions. This distinctive analytic framework has opened a new forum, blown fresh air into the field, and shed new light on many important questions.

Xiaobing Li, University of Central Oklahoma