The Accidental Asian

Notes of a Native Speaker

Author Eric Liu
Beyond black and white, native and alien, lies a vast and fertile field of human experience. It is here that Eric Liu, former speechwriter for President Clinton and noted political commentator, invites us to explore.

In these compellingly candid essays, Liu reflects on his life as a second-generation Chinese American and reveals the shifting frames of ethnic identity. Finding himself unable to read a Chinese memorial book about his father's life, he looks critically at the cost of his own assimilation. But he casts an equally questioning eye on the effort to sustain vast racial categories like “Asian American.” And as he surveys the rising anxiety about China's influence, Liu illuminates the space that Asians have always occupied in the American imagination. Reminiscent of the work of James Baldwin and its unwavering honesty, The Accidental Asian introduces a powerful and elegant voice into the discussion of what it means to be an American.
Eric Liu is the CEO of Citizen University and directs the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship & American Identity Program. He is author of several acclaimed books, including Become America andYou’re More Powerful Than You Think. An Ashoka Fellow and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he served in the Clinton White House and was appointed by President Obama to the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. View titles by Eric Liu
“Eric Liu has written a powerful memoir, a memoir that renders the Asian American experience with a depth and a passion reminiscent of Richard Wright's Black Boy. It is a major contribution to the literature that defines what it means to be an American.”
—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

“A unique-and uniquely American-memoir, suffused with smarts, elegance, and warmth.”
Time

“More than a reminiscence of growing up Asian in America, it is an homage to Liu's Chineseness, and to America.”
Los Angeles Times

“Wonderfully spirited. . . . Remarkable in its adamant refusal to buy into the party line of identity politics . . . Liu is fair to all sides of any issues he discusses.”
The New York Times Book Review

About

Beyond black and white, native and alien, lies a vast and fertile field of human experience. It is here that Eric Liu, former speechwriter for President Clinton and noted political commentator, invites us to explore.

In these compellingly candid essays, Liu reflects on his life as a second-generation Chinese American and reveals the shifting frames of ethnic identity. Finding himself unable to read a Chinese memorial book about his father's life, he looks critically at the cost of his own assimilation. But he casts an equally questioning eye on the effort to sustain vast racial categories like “Asian American.” And as he surveys the rising anxiety about China's influence, Liu illuminates the space that Asians have always occupied in the American imagination. Reminiscent of the work of James Baldwin and its unwavering honesty, The Accidental Asian introduces a powerful and elegant voice into the discussion of what it means to be an American.

Author

Eric Liu is the CEO of Citizen University and directs the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship & American Identity Program. He is author of several acclaimed books, including Become America andYou’re More Powerful Than You Think. An Ashoka Fellow and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he served in the Clinton White House and was appointed by President Obama to the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. View titles by Eric Liu

Praise

“Eric Liu has written a powerful memoir, a memoir that renders the Asian American experience with a depth and a passion reminiscent of Richard Wright's Black Boy. It is a major contribution to the literature that defines what it means to be an American.”
—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

“A unique-and uniquely American-memoir, suffused with smarts, elegance, and warmth.”
Time

“More than a reminiscence of growing up Asian in America, it is an homage to Liu's Chineseness, and to America.”
Los Angeles Times

“Wonderfully spirited. . . . Remarkable in its adamant refusal to buy into the party line of identity politics . . . Liu is fair to all sides of any issues he discusses.”
The New York Times Book Review

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

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PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

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