On Gold Mountain [Paperback]

Now that I've read and enjoyed the book, I am especially surprised, pleasantly, at how honest and real her portrayal of the characters are. I know these are real people and the stories are real but to me their stories read like fairy tales an so they become characters. Their stories are so unusual that had See not done such a good job in writing it, they would have been unbelievable.

One of the reasons that it is a really good book is the way the author presented the facts -- with stories and photographs. It is a well documented, well researched, and well written book.

I could also attest to the veracities of the historical events and personal dramas that were described in the book because my own family's history had very many of the same events, trials and tribulations are similar to hers. And since I do read and speak Chinese and I am knowledgable about the customs of the Southern China district where her great-grandfather came from, I can also say that her description of the cultures (including family practices, language, etc...) are extremely accurate. And they are accurate not to the point of patronizing or insulting, but straight forward in the way it happened. This style of writing I admired enormously.

I think Ms. See did a great service not only to her own family, but to the Chinese-American experience as well. This book really does serve as a documentary to all of the Chinese American immigrants who had come to the country in the last 100 years or more. It is a record of history. It can probably be used as text book for a history class.

The book is well written in many ways. One of the way is that is very personal and yet readable, even for people not from her family. It is about people, culture, history, family, love, triumph, politics, business, relations, and much more. I highly recommend it.

This is truly a beautiful book. Ms. See has an obvious talent for research and her efforts were rather astonishing when one reads the history of her ancestors. Not only does she historically account for chinese immigration to the states, but details the events and cultures of life in China. Tracing back to the time of her grandfather See-Bok's early years, Ms See writes about her family that turns out to be more than a page turner.

The family is entertaining, intelligent, strong and industrious. Her grandmother is the star of the novel. A pioneer white christian woman, she is abused by her own family and escapes a life of servitude forced on her by them. In a central californian town, she talks herself into a job at a chinese underwear factory that caters to prostitutes. The chinese owner eventually proposes to her despite significant social complications. This is the beginning of one of the most important chinese families in America and their contributions to the art world and their personal tales of challenge and love in the early Los Angeles years.