Title
Garden of the World: Asian Immigrants and the Making of Agriculture in California's Santa Clara Valley,Used
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Nearly a century before it became known as Silicon Valley, the Santa Clara Valley was worldrenowned for something else: the succulent fruits and vegetables grown in its fertile soil. In Garden of the World, Cecilia Tsu tells the overlooked, intertwined histories of the Santa Clara Valley's agricultural past and the Asian immigrants who cultivated the land during the region's peak decades of horticultural production. Weaving together the story of three overlapping waves of Asian migration from China, Japan, and the Philippines in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Tsu offers a comparative history that sheds light on the ways in which Asian farmers and laborers fundamentally altered the agricultural economy and landscape of the Santa Clara Valley, as well as white residents' ideas about race, gender, and what it meant to be an American family farmer.At the heart of American racial and national identity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was the family farm ideal: the celebration of white EuropeanAmerican families operating independent, selfsufficient farms that would contribute to the stability of the nation. In California by the 1880s, boosters promoted orchard fruit growing as one of the most idyllic incarnations of the family farm ideal and the lush Santa Clara Valley the finest location to live out this agrarian dream. But in practice, many white growers relied extensively on hired help, which in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was largely Asian. Detailing how white farmers made racial and gendered claims to defend their dependence on nonwhite labor, how those claims shifted with the settlement of each Asian immigrant group, and how Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos sought to create their own version of the American dream in farming, Tsu excavates the social and economic history of agriculture in this famed rural community to reveal the intricate nature of race relations there.
⚠️ WARNING (California Proposition 65):
This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.
For more information, please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
- Q: What is the main subject of 'Garden of the World'? A: 'Garden of the World' explores the agricultural history of California's Santa Clara Valley and the contributions of Asian immigrants who cultivated the land during its peak agricultural years.
- Q: Who is the author of the book? A: The book is authored by Cecilia Tsu.
- Q: When was 'Garden of the World' published? A: 'Garden of the World' was published on July 1, 2013.
- Q: What is the condition of the book? A: The book is listed as a used book in good condition.
- Q: How many pages does the book have? A: The book has a total of 300 pages.
- Q: What format is 'Garden of the World' available in? A: The book is available in paperback format.
- Q: What themes are discussed in the book? A: The book discusses themes of race, gender, and the American family farm ideal, particularly in the context of Asian immigrants' roles in agriculture.
- Q: Is there any specific focus on certain Asian immigrant groups in the book? A: Yes, the book specifically examines the histories of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino immigrants in the agricultural development of the Santa Clara Valley.
- Q: What is the significance of the Santa Clara Valley in agricultural history? A: The Santa Clara Valley was historically significant for its fertile land that produced a variety of fruits and vegetables, making it a key area for agriculture before the rise of Silicon Valley.
- Q: What edition of the book is available? A: The current available edition of 'Garden of the World' is the first edition.