Stepping Forth into the World: The Chinese Educational Mission to the United States, 1872-81
"Professor Rhoads has meticulously constructed the individual and collective histories of the 120 young men and boys sent by a beleaguered late Qing government to live and acquire English and Western knowledge in white New England families, schools and universities. As the vanguard of legions of Chinese students who have studied in the U.S. since, and as contemporaries of the far more numerous Chinese coolies whose paths they never crossed, this compelling study adds a surprising new chapter to early Asian American history." -- Evelyn Hu-DeHart, professor of history and ethnic studies; director, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, Brown University