Vietnamese Immigration (The Changing Face of North America Series) Book

An overview of immigration from Vietnam to the United States and Canada since the 1960s, when United States troops entered the controversial Vietnamese Conflict and war ...

Greg M. Romaneck - Children's Literature

Thinking back only a few decades conjures up images of one of the saddest chapters in American history. The Vietnam War fragmented American society while leaving horrible loss and destruction in Southeast Asia. After that catastrophic war, many Vietnamese citizens chose to flee their homeland due to fear and distress over the communist takeover. Eventually over 1.25 million of these immigrants were to land in North America where they set out to begin a new life. Vietnamese Immigration tells the story of these immigrants, the nation they left behind, and those they journeyed toward. In this illustrated book, writer Joe Ferry chronicles some of the history that set the stage for the migration of so many Vietnamese people. War, political oppression, intolerance, and despair led many Vietnamese to simply set out in makeshift boats for any place other than their homeland. These "boat people" focused international attention upon the plight of Vietnamese immigrants and sensitized North American governments to their responsibility for their fate. While issues of religious differences, youth crime, and culture clashes have existed and are noted in this well-developed book, by and large Vietnamese immigrants have succeeded in establishing deep roots in their new homelands. In relating this story in a meaningful way, Joe Ferry has done a service to both the Vietnamese immigrants he describes and readers who peruse this helpful book. 2004, Mason Crest Publishers, Ages 10 up.