The Moys of New York and Shanghai

"Charlotte Brooks has written an incredible history that defies genres. She uses the biography of one nearly forgotten family to deepen our understanding of the first generation of Chinese Americans. Sometimes literally caught between the United States and China, American and Chinese identities and nationalities, the Moy siblings weathered the many injustices of racial discrimination in the United States and the tumult of war in China. The story spans generations and borders and seamlessly integrates the captivating personal lives of the Moys into the larger worlds of New York and China that they helped to transform."—Erika Lee, author of The Making of Asian America: A History

"The Moys of New York and Shanghai is an extraordinary family saga of the twentieth century. Six middle-class Chinese American siblings defied stereotypes but in different ways—in business and in politics, on both sides of the Pacific, and on both sides of World War II and the Chinese revolution. Brooks brings this family to life with an engaging narrative based on deep research in Chinese- and English-language sources. This is Chinese American history never before told."—Mae Ngai, author of The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics

“Meticulously researched, well-written, and illuminating. Brooks's use of archival collections, oral histories, interviews, Chinese-language sources, and other pertinent sources all contribute to her unique ability to tell histories that few others can. Brooks is one of the best historians of the trans-Pacific Chinese American experience."—K. Scott Wong, author of Americans First: Chinese Americans and the Second World War