Join the Japanese American Museum for its April Book Club presentation and hear UC Davis Professor Cecilia Tsu weave together the histories of the three major Asian immigrant groups that shaped our valley's farming history, in the discussion of her book, The Garden of the World .

Professor Tsu's work, reclaims the remarkable role the Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino American immigrants played in transforming the Santa Clara Valley into one of the most significant agricultural areas of the US. She captures their experiences from 1880 to 1940 (with an epilogue adding some present information) and investigates the complex interplay between race, gender, and class within and between these groups, as well as their efforts to negotiate their relationships with the dominant white society.

One of the first comparative histories to explore the overlapping histories of these three groups in the Santa Clara Valley, The Garden of the World offers an unique view on the ways in which Asian farmers and laborers fundamentally altered the agricultural economy and landscape of the Valley.

Museum members will find the rich detail the book provides regarding Issei and Japanese American farm life in the Santa Clara Valley of particular interest. Names of places and families will be readily recognized by many of those who trace their own family roots to the region.

The book club meets at 1:00 p.m. the first Saturday of every other month at JAMsj. Meetings are open to the general public, and books are available for purchase at the museum store. Questions? Contact Aggie Idemoto at (408) 294-3138 or  aggie@jamsj.org .

Cost:
Free with admission to the museum (nonmembers, $5; students and seniors over age 65, $3; JAMsj members and children under 12, free).

RSVP: No RSVP required.