Filipino American Lives

Tells the story, of families being uprooted from the Philippines to a new life in the USA. This wasn't always of their choosing or likes. The book is enjoyable to read and is especially recommended to those who have went through this process.

Filipino Americans have often fought to have their stories heard. The histories of their ancestors have been written from the perspectives of everyone but actual Filipino Americans. The book Filipino American Lives, by Yen Le Espiritu is just a stepping-stone toward developing the true history of Filipino Americans. The book tries to give an overview of Filipino American life, as the title reveals. The introduction is a brief outline of the main events that occurred throughout Filipino American history. Yen Le Espiritu is a well renowned author and professor. She teaches at the University of California, San Diego in the Department of Ethnic Studies. Her encounters with Filipino Americans and their hunger for information about their identities prompted her to begin a study on Filipino Americans. Espiritu's first intention was to understand the multiple facets of Filipino American identities, paying particular attention to regional, generational, gender, and class differences. She planned to use the life-history method as the main tool of research, tracing the connections between the life experiences of Filipino Americans and their changing sense of identities. It was during her interviews when she took a different approach toward writing this book. Espiritu realized the importance of presenting some of these accounts in full- not only because they are rich and compelling, but also because the narrators desire to see their life stories in print. And that is what this book as developed into. It is a book that brings to life the stories of many Filipino Americans from a span of three generations. Topics include family and immigration history, ethnic identity and practice, and community development among San Diego's Filipinos. These are the stories of those interviews. This is the history that is yet to be exposed to all of America. After reading some of the few books about Filipino Americans, I believe this book is a great book to have as a class textbook, as a leisure reading book, or even as a bedtime story to read to the children; our future Filipinos of America. It is very accurate, as accurate as first hand stories go. You cannot get any more accurate then this book shows. The best way to present, teach a history subject is by showing the first hand stories. These stories are what make history books into books of facts. What history books need to model is Espiritu's book because this book gives details that no one else could give unless they were right there at the same event at the same time. I feel this book could catch anyone's attention. It is the stories of these Filipino Americans that will stick in my mind. How can someone learn history and remember history by just reading the facts? Filipino American Lives gives narrative after narrative of different stories, similar stories. And these are the stories that will help me to remember what happened during the days of racism and anti-miscegenation laws, of

Several streams of thought are reflected within the oral histories compiled by Espiritu. None is more apparent than the lack of Filipino voices within the political establishment.If you have ever wondered why the Filipino community is, paradoxically, a putatively cohesive ethnic group (with shared pasts and struggles in America) yet divided (along class/profession lines or along regional/province rifts), then this book is for you. The variety of stories presented- ranging from those who lived during the Spanish and American colonial periods to the American-born- present an overall picture of why Filipinos today are not politically powerful. The megalomania of community leaders, as expressed by some of the interviewees, who seek to further their personal interest rather than of the community as a whole speak much for the impotence of the Filipino voice in the realm of policy. Is it no wonder, then, that our grandfathers are still fighting for the rights due them for their World War II service? Is it not surprising that the younger generations are encouraged to adopt assmiliationist attitudes in this country? In essence, the younger Filipinos are taught not to appreciate their own heritage (this is apparent in the demeanor of at least two interviewees).This book really does make you think. Whether you see the histories as representing what I feel ought to be addressed or whether you see them as an affirmation of shared pasts, Espiritu chose her subjects well. They were open and didn't leave much to chance with their responses.

This book is a compilation of interviews with 13 Filipino Americans, and it is a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. The individuals interviewed have a very wide diversity in age, education, economic status, and experience, and their individual stories are each very interesting in their own right. As you get further along into the book, however, you are struck by how similar many of their personal thoughts and experiences are despite their diverse backgrounds. The most interesting similarity is the experience of all of them in struggling to define their own identity: "Am I Filipino? American? Filipino/American? What do those terms mean? How do I fit in?" Among the younger interviewees this takes on the added dimension of "FOB" (Fresh Off the Boat) vs. "AB" (American-Born) Filipino Americans. There are also similarities in the thoughts of many of the interviewees on what they want and expect for their children in terms of Filipino and American values, traditions, and identity.The author (a Professor of Asian-American Studies at UCSD) is, in my estimation, a very adept interviewer as he is able to spur very thoughtful, introspective commentaries from the interviewees. This book does not make any generalizations or force any conclusions about the Filipino American experience on you. Instead, it lets these interviews stand on their own and compels you to draw you own insights.I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in thought-provoking material on Filipino-American experiences and identity.