One can hardly understand American history without knowing the crucial role people of Asian ancestry have played in shaping our past, politics, and culture. Yet many standard history books fail to fully capture the contributions and experiences of Asian Americans, and too many of us know little more about these people and their customs than Bruce Lee movies and take-out Chinese food. For example, you may not know that tennis star Michael Chang is the youngest player to ever win a U.S. Open match. Or that traditionally the hula is a religious dance performed in remembrance of Hawaiian gods. Or that ginseng, a popular herbal remedy, was first grown in the forests of Korea.

In a lively question-and-answer format, this informative guide chronicles all the important dates and figures in Asian-American history, and also provides a complete understanding of the traditions and ideas that people of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, and Pacific Island descent have brought to bear on American life.