Chinese Playground: A Memoir

Chinese Playground is a window into the underworld of San Francisco's Chinatown; an insider's look at the gangs that lived and died on it's streets. Mr. Lee's poignant account of his dysfunctional childhood; his life as a gang member and his escape from the gang life makes for fascinating reading. The author holds nothing back as he chronicles his victories, his struggles and the fateful succession of events that landed him at a Silicon Valley firm on the day an unbalanced man went on a murderous shooting rampage. Having lived in San Francisco most of my adult life I thought I knew this city. Chinese Playground opened my eyes to a very different, sinister San Francisco. Chinese Playground is sobering, enlightening and enthralling. Don't miss it!

WOW!!!!! This book was shared with me by my husbands cousin. He knows of my frustrations and my always unanswered questions of my husband and in-laws. You see my husband as well as his family grew up in Chinatown San Francisco in the 60's and 70's and few still remain. I had always questioned my Father in Laws reasons for moving his family out of there as he has made it very clear that he has always wanted his children to marry Chinese and not any others.He also would never answer any questions on or about his childhood etc. My husband has always said its just the way it was and was always telling me please dont ask to many questions (its a respect thing). My husband did read this book also and knows of many of the key characters. When he finished it he said "You get it now?" And yes I do. He was able to share with me all of the family (secrets) history without shame or fear. Thank you Mr. Lee for giving him the courage to release all of this that has been bottled up for so many years. Also Thank you for helping me to better understand and respect my Father-in-law and his past.

Chinese Playground I think was a very well written and heart filled book. Bill Lee tells a story about himself being raised in China Town, S.F., in a typical Chinese family. He writes of his journeys through his childhood to when he was a gang-member, loosing all his "blood" brothers in the "battle," and finally realizes that this was not the life to live. He then tells of his business life and how just like in China Town, the corporate world was also full of greedy people. He then experiences one of lifes most excruciating tragedies one can live. During the Massacre he remembers his childhood memories, but finally finds himself to help save the lives of his fellow workers and their familes. He realizes that the world has its dangers and hatred, but one must live on and God in weird ways has put him on this Earth, not only to help himself, but to sacrafice for others to make their lives well too. I really enjoyed this book because it talked about real life situations that I have also encountered myself, and it tells a story of a wonderful man, "Bill Lee", and how he changed his life for the good, and finally realizes why God has sent him down here for. I also think this book is very inspiring to young adult readers and non-readers too, not for the gangs and hatred, but to teach us about real-life situations, to teach us and make us ready for the life God has set forth for us. I hope many others can write books like this one and read this book as well. As a person that was not interested in reading books, I couldn't let my hands off this one.

Wow! I read the book 3 times for self-serving reasons. I'm Mary, his biological sister. I never imagine that someone (my brother) would write about our childhood in such a good writing style. It's as good as "The Joy Luck Club" if not better. William did an excellent job expelling his experiences. He succeeded in capturing the inner feelings of growing up in S.F. Chinatown. It was fast reading and kept my interest. I recall William's cleverness in surviving in our family unit and in S.F. Chinatown's environment. His book reveals experiences about our father that I didn't know. William did position himself to be close to our father, and he applied the same approach for his survival in Chinatown. His book brought back painful memories, but I appreciate the courage it took him to write this book and understand what he had endured in the underworld of S.F. Chinatown. Yes, it was extremely challenging growing up in Chinatown. We had to equipped ourselves to fight the various temptations thrown at us. It was no easy task. This book gave me insight about William's choice concerning his relationship with us that I never knew. It also helped me to identify his pains. I am sad that William holds so much hostility. In most Asian cultures the rule of the house is given to the first son. It doesn't make it right, but there's a price and then there are rewards.My siblings are very proud of what William had accomplished with his book. The one thing that I learned is that each of us can have the same mutual experiences, but can come away with a different perspective and outlook.It's ashame that his book isn't marketed throughout the country. He has an important message that needs to be shared with a much larger audience. William is a gifted writer and maybe one day, he can help other Asians tell their story. I enjoyed the review made by the reader on May 13, 1999. He did an excellent job in summarizing most of our thoughts. Thank you.

I finished this book in one day. The stories that Bill Lee tells sound all too familiar. I am happy that someone had the courage to reveal the dark side of growing up as Asian Americans. The model minority image does not fit here and the author does a good job in making us not feel sorry for him. I wish the book would have gone into more details about his son, but I respect his privacy. I hope people realize what a courageous thing Bill Lee did in writing this book.