Many Americans know about the "first wave" of Chinese immigrants, who worked on the railroads, mined for gold, and built Chinatowns. Less known is the "second wave" -- most of whom came to the U.S. as students in the 1950s and 1960s, spoke Mandarin, and earned advanced degrees. Although most found professional jobs, they were cut off from their native country and worried about relatives left behind after the revolution. This ground-breaking book collects the bittersweet stories of 35 people from this "second wave" generation of Chinese Americans, who tell about their lives in their own...

In the 1930s, in a small town in eastern China, a young man faces a dilemma. Ever since the Emperor fell, social values have been changing. Modern young people are rebelling against the dictates of their parents and their ancestors. To him, the most compelling, revolutionary idea is this: Marriage could, and should, be about mutual attraction. But when the old rules are gone, how do you decide what is right and what is wrong? Can a man fall in love with two women at once? A romantic at heart, he knew better than that. Or did he? These pages contain a gripping but true story. Names have not...

Should a woman be punished for marrying a foreigner? Born into dire poverty during wartime China, a young girl finds opportunity, education, and dignity in the Communist Party. Wang Yulin goes from scrounging for warm cinders spewed from passing trains to learning radio technology and rising to responsible positions within China's Broadcast Administration in Beijing. There she meets the love of her life, an American named Sidney Rittenberg, who, like her, believes that Communism is the best hope for China. But in 1968, their dreams are shattered when Sidney is thrown into prison on false...