Asian American ethnicity and communication /

This book examines numerous social and cultural attitudes among Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Filipino Americans. The data are from a survey of students at a West Coast university, "some" of their relatives, and "some" members of Asian-American ethnic churches (more details should have been provided). The bulk of the book comprises literature reviews that are comprehensive and thoughtful. But there is no thesis connecting the wide range of topics reviewed, a problem best evidenced by the absence of a concluding chapter summarizing the book's main findings and insights. Instead the author simply notes similarities and differences among various Asian American groups. The similarities are explained by the assertion of a collectivist worldview among all Asian Americans (and not, for example, their status as a racial minority). No explanation is given for differences, such as, "Korean Americans perceive themselves to be the most aggressive, Japanese Americans perceive themselves to be the least aggressive." Social scientists also will be disappointed by the statistical tables, which are difficult to interpret because they do not indicate the number of individuals in each category and the strength of statistical relationships. Undergraduates. J. Hein University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire