In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, let’s dig into this list of history books, memoirs, and novels about the Asian American experience in the United States. Discover harrowing immigration stories, heartbreaking tales of exclusion and internment, struggles with identity, and inspiring accounts of achieving the American dream.
Before we dive into the reading list, here’s a short side story. As a New Yorker from Queens, I grew up with Asian Americans as my besties. I learned to play Gonggi with my Korean friends and to yell “hajima” when I didn’t want someone to do something. I was taught to wish someone prosperity with “gong hei fat choy” on Chinese New Year. And I’m absolutely obsessed with boba tea. I will run people over to get to the nearest Gong Cha. While these are small things, exposure to a variety of Asian cultures was an integral part of my life.
As I grew older, I realized how important Asian Americans are to American history, and how many times the U.S. did them dirty. I believe everyone should be aware of this complicated history and pick up some of the books on this list.
Asian American History
Explore the little-known history of Asian Americans in the United States. These books delve into the complexities of immigration and identity formation. They also highlight Asian Americans’ contributions to society and life in the U.S.
The following selections cover a variety of Asian American groups, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and South Asian.
Chinese American History
Did you know that the Chinese were the first immigrant group to be banned by the United States based on race? Yeah, it’s fucked up, but true. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited Chinese laborers from coming to our shores.
You see, Chinese laborers had been immigrating to the U.S. since the mid-19th century. They worked on the Transcontinental Railroad and even took part in the California gold rush. But Americans were not welcoming, with bouts of racial violence and terror erupting in the West. The books below reveal the reality of this exclusion and how it perpetuated anti-Asian racism.
Japanese American History
In the late 19th century, Japanese immigrants began arriving in the U.S. in large numbers. As per usual, Americans didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for them, particularly in the West.
In fact, Californians were so pissed about it that President Theodore Roosevelt made a diplomatic agreement with Japan in 1907. Known as the Gentleman’s Agreement, Japan agreed to restrict Japanese laborers from coming over. The United States allowed only certain categories of Japanese people to immigrate, namely businessmen and professionals.
In exchange, Teddy agreed to tell San Fran to get their shit together and stop segregating the kiddos of Japanese immigrants from their white peers in schools.
Things got worse—way worse—in the 1940s. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed an executive order to round up 120,000 Japanese Americans and stick them in internment camps for the duration of World War II. Ya’ll know this from History 101. Many of the following selections cover this great injustice.
Korean American History
The first wave of Korean immigration occurred in the early 20th century, particularly in Hawaii. Koreans continued to immigrate to the United States post-World War II, but another major wave started in 1965. As Koreans made America their home, they became economically successful yet still battled anti-Asian sentiments. Koreatowns began to emerge throughout the U.S., forever changing the landscapes of major American cities. Read about this intriguing history with the selections below.
South Asian American History
Namaste, bitches. We can’t talk about Asian American history without including the South Asians. These books cover Bengali working-class migrants and Indian immigrants settling in major US cities like Chicago, New York, Baltimore, and New Orleans.
Memoirs and Nonfiction
What better way to learn about Asian American history than from Asian authors themselves? Read about the firsthand horrors of Japanese internment, life in New York City’s Chinatown, growing up undocumented, and struggling with identity amidst America’s fraught racial climate.
Asian American Fiction
Novels often transport us into the past in ways that history books can’t. We can see stories unfolding in our mind’s eye and feel all the feels with our hearts. These stories by Asian American authors tackle the hardships of immigration, living life between two worlds, assimilation, and navigating identity.
For more reading lists on the ethnic and racial groups that make up the United States’ “melting pot,” see the following posts:
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