On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family

Lisa See traces the history of her own Chinese American family, beginning with her great-grandfather Fong See, who arrived in California in the 1870s and built a business empire in Los Angeles's Chinatown. She follows his descendants, including her grandfather and aunts, through discrimination, immigration laws, interracial marriages, and Hollywood connections. She weaves in the larger story of Chinese immigration and the Exclusion Act.

Readers who enjoy family histories that illuminate a broader past will find it engrossing. It suits those interested in Asian American history and in the Los Angeles of the early twentieth century.

Balanced in tone; a moderate read.

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