There's a Book for That: Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Welcome May and Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month! In honor of the occasion, we are featuring the following recent and acclaimed nonfiction which recognizes the culture, history, achievements, and experiences of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders:
From a wry, insightful, and very funny new voice, here is one woman’s search for home, from Kashmir to England to Saudi Arabia to Michigan to Rome and, finally, to Los Angeles—standalone essays that together form a sweeping portrait of a peripatetic life.
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR NONFICTION
From New Yorker writer Michael Luo comes a masterful narrative history of the Chinese in America that traces the sorrowful theme of exclusion and documents their more than century-long struggle to belong.
From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American—“in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself” (NPR).
Inhabiting her childhood perspective with exquisite lyric clarity and unforgettable charm and strength, Qian Julie Wang has penned an essential American story about a family fracturing under the weight of invisibility, and a girl coming of age in the shadows, who never stops seeking the light.
Original and expansive, Asian American Histories of the United States is a nearly 200-year history of Asian migration, labor, and community formation in the US. Reckoning with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in anti-Asian hate and violence, award-winning historian Catherine Ceniza Choy presents an urgent social history of the fastest growing group of Americans. The book features the lived experiences and diverse voices of immigrants, refugees, US-born Asian Americans, multiracial Americans, and workers from industries spanning agriculture to healthcare.
One of WWII’s most uniquely hidden figures, Hazel Ying Lee was the first Asian American woman to earn a pilot’s license, join the WASPs, and fly for the United States military amid widespread anti-Asian sentiment and policies. American Flygirl is the untold account of a spirted fighter in American history. She broke through every common belief about women. She challenged every social restriction to endure and to succeed. And against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Hazel Ying Lee reached for the skies and made her mark as a universal and unsung hero whose time has come.
Maia and Alex Shibutani have taken their Olympic-medal-winning drive and passion to amplify AANHPI contributions and successes for a more inclusive world. Together with artist Dion MBD, they introduce more than thirty figures, ranging from chefs to entertainers to scientists, in short but substantial biographies and colorful illustrations. Their hope is that young readers will learn that these heroes have shaped our lives in countless inspiring ways.
A rich and compelling introduction to the history of Asian Pacific American communities as told through 101 objects, from a fortune cookie baking mold to the debut Ms. Marvel comic featuring Kamala Khan.
Learn Korean cooking alongside social media star Sarah Ahn as her umma passes down 100+ family recipes and decades’ worth of kitchen wisdom. The Ahns understand that when generations come together in the kitchen, so much is shared: not only food, but also knowledge, advice, family history, and love.
The author of Cook Real Hawai’i brings the essence of Hawai’ian cuisine to everyday cooking with 100 unfussy and flavorful recipes (often plant-based). Beloved chef and two-time Top Chef fan favorite Sheldon Simeon’s food joyfully reflects Hawai’i’s flavors and cooking styles, a mixture of island influences including Native Hawai’ian, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, and other cuisines. Sheldon’s recipes show how to blend sweet, savory, and tangy Hawai’ian flavors into everyday meals, all the while centering the cuisine’s legacy of communal-style eating, reminiscent of the traditions and memories of foods we all grew up with. In Ohana Style you’ll find umami-packed recipes meant for family—that’s what ohana means in Hawai’ian—weeknight dinners, quick lunches, snacks, cookouts, and barbecues.
HAWAII GOLD: A CELEBRATION OF SURFING by Carissa Moore, Tom Pohaku Stone, Don Vu
Hawaiian native Carissa Moore brought joy and pride to the islands when she won the first-ever, gold medal in surfing’s Olympic debut. Here she shares her story and her personal perspective, alongside contributions from many of her fellow Hawaiian surf legends, on what it means to be a surfer from Hawaii.
For more on these and related titles visit the collection AANHPI Heritage Month
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