Hearts of Sorrow: Vietnamese-American Lives / Edition 1

by James M. Freeman

Overview

The first-person narratives in this book provide a glimpse into the personal lives of fourteen Vietnamese-Americans who were devastated by war and the refugee experience but who were able to create new lives in a new cultural environment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804718905
Publisher:	Stanford University Press
Publication date:	04/01/1991
Series:	Vietnamese-American Lives
Edition description:	1
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	930L (what's this?)

Editorial Reviews

Fourteen Vietnamese refugees--a former ARVN officer, a Buddhist nun, fisherman, auto mechanic, etc.--speak here about their struggles to survive under the Hanoi and Saigon governments, their flights from Communist oppression and their difficulties adjusting to life in the U.S. Their experiences in America are brought into sharp focus as they discuss such matters as anti-Vietnamese bigotry and the deterioration of Vietnamese family values. Freeman, anthropology professor at San Jose State in California, stresses that ``America is much better off for having brought the Vietnamese here,'' and suggests that never in our history has such a large block of disadvantaged immigrants succeeded in ``turning around their lives to become economically self-sufficient contributors to the community in which they lived.'' The statements of the participants in this oral project are nonetheless heavy with longing and regret, and bewilderment over American ways. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly