New Books In Asian American Studies

When Jeremy Lin shot (pardon the pun) to stardom with his unexpected scoring run with the New York Knickerbockers in 2012 many aficionados of basketball were surprised that an Asian American (Lin is of Taiwanese extraction) played this sport at such a high level. While “Linsanity” did not last, it fueled important questions about the relationship between a particular community and a sport that, at least at the collegiate and professional levels, does not feature many players of this specific ethnic background. While the NBA is not overcrowded with players of Asian descent, the sport is quite popular in places like China (not without controversy, however) and elsewhere in Asia. What roles has the game played in the lives of individuals and communities of Asian Americans in the United States? The answer to that question can be found in Joel Franks’ wonderful monograph Asian American Basketball: A Century of Sport, Community and Culture (McFarland, 2016). The historical record of the sport in Asian American comm