{"product_id":"mott-street-a-chinese-american-familys-story-of-exclusion-and-homecoming","title":"Mott Street: A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming","description":"\u003cb\u003eA sweeping narrative history of the Chinese Exclusion Act through an intimate portrayal of one family's epic journey to lay down roots in America\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e* \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTIME \u003c\/i\u003e100 Must-Read Books of 2023 \u003c\/b\u003e* \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e's Favorite Nonfiction * \u003ci\u003eKirkus \u003c\/i\u003eBest Nonfiction of 2023 *\u003ci\u003e Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e Best Memoir and Biography of 2023 * One of \u003ci\u003eElle\u003c\/i\u003e's Best Memoirs of 2023 (So Far) \u003cb\u003e* An ALA Notable Book *\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs the only child of a single mother in Queens, Ava Chin found her family's origins to be shrouded in mystery. She had never met her father, and her grandparents' stories didn't match the history she read at school. \u003ci\u003eMott Street\u003c\/i\u003e traces Chin's quest to understand her Chinese American family's story. Over decades of painstaking research, she finds not only her father but also the building that provided a refuge for them all. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBreaking the silence surrounding her family's past meant confronting the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882--the first federal law to restrict immigration by race and nationality, barring Chinese immigrants from citizenship for six decades. Chin traces the story of the pioneering family members who emigrated from the Pearl River Delta, crossing an ocean to make their way in the American West of the mid-nineteenth century. She tells of their backbreaking work on the transcontinental railroad and of the brutal racism of frontier towns, then follows their paths to New York City. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn New York's Chinatown she discovers a single building on Mott Street where so many of her ancestors would live, begin families, and craft new identities. She follows the men and women who became merchants, \"paper son\" refugees, activists, and heads of the Chinese tong, piecing together how they bore and resisted the weight of the Exclusion laws. She soon realizes that exclusion is not simply a political condition but also a personal one. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGorgeously written, deeply researched, and tremendously resonant, \u003ci\u003eMott Street\u003c\/i\u003e uncovers a legacy of exclusion and resilience that speaks to the American experience, past and present.\r","brand":"Ava Chin","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44440217092332,"sku":"9780525557371","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44440217125100,"sku":"9780525557395","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/1791\/3068\/files\/9780525557371.jpg?v=1708830834","url":"https:\/\/intl.allstora.com\/products\/mott-street-a-chinese-american-familys-story-of-exclusion-and-homecoming","provider":"Allstora","version":"1.0","type":"link"}