Surviving the City

The book represents one of the earliest efforts to link the history of European and Asian immigrants. By emphasizing the crucial role played by the immigrants' traditions in shaping their adjustment patterns in America but by no means losing sight of the impact of discrimination against the newcomers, the book revised the monistic approach to the study of Asian American history which for many decades focused almost exclusively on the effect of discrimination. At the same time, general U.S. immigration history books seldom included the experience of Asians in their discussions. The many similarities between the adjustment patterns of the two immigrant groups discussed in the book highlight the necessity and feasibility of examining the history of Asian and European immigrants on the same footing.