On Gold Mountain

ON GOLD MOUNTAIN: THE ONE-HUNDRED YEAR ODYSSEY... is an amazing saga of the author's Chinese-American family that is sure to be greatly enjoyed by everyone, particularly those of multicultural ancestry interested in their roots. Thoroughly researched and rich with family stories and photos, ON GOLD MOUNTAIN is a story of strength, perseverance, determination, and triumph in the face of hardship, racism, exclusion and double standards that should resound with all whose families have also undergone these struggles. Most highly recommended!

I learned much, some of it uncomfortable, about the Chinese American experience. I also found where my family's history crossed paths, living in early Los Angeles and having be in some of the same locations. Very honest.

I have a strong interest in California history and am a docent at a state park. This book was well-written and interesting. It's a personal biographical account of the author's Chinese family's migration to California. I recommend this book.

Lisa See must have spent years writing this book which gave incredible insight not only into her family but into the lives of Chinese immigrants arriving in San Francisco during this period. I absolutely loved this book. I love all of her books but this one was more personal and more historical in its telling. Great book. Must read for all Lisa See fans.

---a comprehensive, fascinating story that, despite its exotic & ancient people & culture, contains much that all people can identify with on a deeply personal basis. Of the 4 books I've read by Lisa See, this is by far the best, most outstanding in many ways---also as an excellent reference for history. It's hard to imagine how she could outdo this masterpiece.

Fascinating family story that is well researched and well written. I enjoyed reading it so much that I hated to see it end. There were some problems keeping all the Chinese names straight but, other than that, no negatives. I will definitely look for other books Lisa See has written.

I knew little about this aspect of American history and I was most enthralled by it. The book reads like a novel, but is not. The story of a Chinese man who immigrates to CA, marries a Caucasian woman, the life they build together and against all odds, the financial success they achieve. I I cannot imagine the challenges and complexities for the author to decipher the various versions of history as told by her family members as well as their various names. Absolutely fascinating book and I highly recommend it

Interesting saga of the ebb and flow of Chinesse immigrants struggling to find a place in America. The American government had many discrimentary laws that were based on fear by many and greed by some. It was very interesting how the See family had business and sometimes another family in China. The end of the book shows the accomplishments of the modern day generations who were now able to take advantage of America's opportunities to succeed in ways their ancestors could only imagine.

I learned a lot about the experience of Chinese immigrants by reading this book. I felt, though, that it was too long and meandering. The fact that many of the people had multiple names made it difficult to keep track of who was who. Perhaps reporting this fact, but sticking with one name would have made it less confusing. There was also way more detail than was necessary or interesting. However, I did persist to the end and was glad that I did.

The people in this story are amazing. My heart breaks because of how we treated our Asian population. I also sympathize with the young adults plight in dealing with their mixed heritage at a very early time in our country. They mostly lived lives of hard work and simplicity along with great success and are to be greatly commended. The young woman who wrote the book and went to China to see the ancestral home is to be commended most of all for sharing this story with us for her family. The photos and Chinese history are also interesting.

Author seems to think that every paragraph needs to be a page long. Would be much easier to read if it was broken up into shorter paragraphs. Your mind bogs down on what she is saying by the time you get to the end of the paragraph.

Interesting story. Would have gotten 5 stars, except for being so hard to read.

A facinating autobiography by this wonderful author. Her descriptions of her family arriving on our shores in California and struggling to survive are so interesting. It's about one families survival in Gold Mountain [America] and reaching the American dream of wealth and prosperity. Excellent.

I throughly enjoyed learning about the Chinese culture. I grew up in San Francisco in the 50's, went to school and worked among many Chinese people befriending several, but we never discussed culture. I loved their food and gentle manner. Lisa Lee was able to enlighten her readers by sharing so much. Thanks to her for that.

Very interesting book about the history of one family of Chinese origin who immigrated to America beginning in the late 1800's up to the present. Any one who is a fan of historical fiction will be highly entertained by this account. I did find, however, that the narrative was sometimes bogged down by too much detail.

Partial to biographies and memoirs, this appealed to me. I love the detailed descriptions which means I can practically smell the soup simmering on the stove.
The difficulties the Chinese faced in America were huge. Most people today are unaware of the massive Chinese immigration of the 19th century. Warm-hearted and educational.

Have read other Lisa Lee books and enjoy reading about the Chinese culture. This book told the history of the Chinese immigration to America thru the experiences of one family. Although a long read it is well worth it.

The author humanizes the lives of a Chinese American family to an extent never chronicled before. If only all of the immigrant experiences from the various ethnic and cultural groups were so well written. No matter how different the cultures and backgrounds, the human character is so similar, truly shining through, the brotherhood and sisterhood of the human race.
Even the human frailties are so similar in kind, modified only slightly by many centuries of different customs, different only by a few degrees.

I enjoyed the history of this family. I did have to put the story down every few days as I found it hard to keep track of all the family members and would loose interest. But the family and American and Chinese history at each stage was very good.

I admire the work that went into the research for this book and also enjoyed some of the history of China and how they came here, etc. but there were way too many people mentioned in it to keep up with. Also, some people had as many as three or four different name changes throughout the book.

Lisa See relates 100 years of Chinese immigration by relating the history of her family. I loved this story, in psrt because I knew the author from reading her later popular fictiom. Not many people have such fascinating family members nor the ability to write a captivating biography. I learned much and was entertained ad well.

It really shows the hard work, determination, and intelligence of the Chinese people plus explains the family dynamics that sometimes seem so puzzling to others. Parts of the book are a little long and drawn out with the genealogy, and it was sometimes difficult to keep track of all the characters due to the Chinese names, but it was certainly an absorbing book. I have recommended it to many of my friends and family.

Interesting read as I have seen little else about this time and culture. I found the beginning great and intertaining but I lost interest after several generations and found the relationships the different characters have difficult to remember. Never finished it.

A very interesting set of short biographical stories of the lives of Chinese immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Being a descendant of a Chinese man forced into Mexico due to the exclusion acts America enacted in the late 19th century, it is fantastic learning of people with similar histories to that of my great grandfather.

It really shows the hard work, determination, and intelligence of the Chinese people plus explains the family dynamics that sometimes seem so puzzling to others. Parts of the book are a little long and drawn out with the genealogy, and it was sometimes difficult to keep track of all the characters due to the Chinese names, but it was certainly an absorbing book. I have recommended it to many of my friends and family.

Interesting read as I have seen little else about this time and culture. I found the beginning great and intertaining but I lost interest after several generations and found the relationships the different characters have difficult to remember. Never finished it.

A very interesting set of short biographical stories of the lives of Chinese immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Being a descendant of a Chinese man forced into Mexico due to the exclusion acts America enacted in the late 19th century, it is fantastic learning of people with similar histories to that of my great grandfather.

Good story. I Love going back and forth from the Us. to China. Really enjoyed how the families worked together and take care of each other. Very interesting time in history.

It is funny how some parts of the story are not so different from the world today.

Lisa See's family history is readable but overly long. While some of the relatives' stories are interesting, it's hard to keep the family connections straight, especially when some people go by several different names. I'm glad I only paid $ .99 for this book. I much prefer her fiction.

This was a remarkable book. Lisa See does an incredible and thorough job researching her family lineage, having been born and raised in California, I was very familiar with places such as Chinatown. The book marks a place in history for Los Angeles and to the members of the See Family.

While not fiction, Lisa See tells about her own family's background and their trials coming to America, spanning many many decades. A wonderful story. After a few chapters, you almost feel this is fiction, she is such an awesome storyteller!

Interesting history of one family from China, who started out working on the American railroads, and made a life for themselves in spite of prejudice and segregation. We also get a picture of the terrible hardships the Chinese have had to suffer in their own country.

Chinese/American culture is detailed to an almost mind numbing degree. Considering difficulty in dealing with the names a family tree would have been most helpful in showing lineage. It was an interesting rag-to-riches effort, and showed a tremendous work ethic.

I found this book to be informative but slow going. Perhaps the author and other members of her family are intrigued by all the many births, multiple marriages, and friendships of members of her family, I doubt many readers value this info as intensely interesting.

The author tells the story of how her Chinese family came to America and their struggles to make it in a land filled with prejudice and laws aimed at keeping them from prospering. Her rich details are impressive but the number of characters and their unusual names hindered my enjoyment of the story.

I would have given this 5 stars, but family connections at the end were a bit too confusing. It almost seemed like the "begats" in the Bible. However, that said, I found most of it quite interesting and historical, particularly re establishment of Chinatown and businesses in downtown L.A.

Lisa See's understanding and depiction of this family's life is compelling and a very good read. I now want to read her mothers books. I had fun looking up more information on the people in her book and also watched the Good Earth. Many of the sets were from her family's antique store.

I have always been interested in Chinese culture and this book delivers. Sometimes confusing, jumping from one time period to another. The main character hard many different names and many different families making it sometimes difficult to keep up with the story line. I found I had to backtrack to figure out who did what,etc. But all in all I enjoyed the book. Would read other books written by this author.

A fascinating story of the things we put the Chinese through, in some cases treating them as poorly as we did the native Americans. It covers several generations of a single family's struggle to make a life for themselves here on the 'Gold Mountain'.

See professional reviews; I add that I recommend this book to everyone, everywhere because it is such a thorough history, so readable, such a remarkably unique history about a city that's been researched since it began.

This book, part memory, part history was a wonderful surprise. It painted a vivid picture of the Chinese American family and I learned a lot. The characters engaged me and I will never look at any China town in the same way again. For someone new to California it was a treat. It is however neccesary to consult the included family tree to keep track of who is who.

A wonderful story of the Chinese people, from their early days in the United States and how they have evolved over the years. Gives one a whole new perspective of the difficulties they faced while trying to make the United States their home.

Wonderful book especially if you love family histories. Reading it in the midst of the current controversy over immigration makes one realize this is not a new problem. Lisa See never disappoints. You can already rely on her for a happy few days, or more, of reading.

Very interesting book. Most of the time it read like a novel. Was not expecting to get pictures. That was a bonus. It was really surprising to find that a woman, during that time of great discrimination against non-whites, could marry an Asian and still be treated with respect. Also interesting to see a woman married to a man from a culture that would not even name their lower-class women treat his wife with such respect.

She really captures you with this 100 year family history . I felt like I was reading a novel . Such great tenacity to go threw all this families beginning in China to prominent people of Los Angeles. Great book !

Interesting insight into the Chinese culture. Dynamics were a major part of this book. Lisa See is one of my favorite authors when it comes to Chinese history. Have read all her other books and really enjoyed.