justin_l_s's review against another edition

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adventurous informative reflective tense fast-paced

4.0

seatonob's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative slow-paced

3.25

simplysapphic's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

louisebowden's review against another edition

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5.0

meticulously detailed and riveting !! as a migration gal it was so interesting to learn about a niche part of history that has global reach. 

anniemd's review against another edition

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challenging informative medium-paced

4.0

qarielisabell's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

carolynrasp's review against another edition

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dark informative medium-paced

4.0

I will read anything PRK writes, so I've had his backlist books on my TBR, and this one was no exception to the excellence of narrative non-fiction he provides. I had no clue about the Chinese human smuggling trade, and this was a WILD story that had me going "what!?!?!" multiple times. It was a lot of people to keep track of, and I lost my way a bit in the middle, but overall, an excellent telling of a dramatic immigration story and some critique on policy. 

thehectorperez's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

2.75

kellysbookverse's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

4.0

cayleigh's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

3.5

Patrick Radden Keefe is has quickly become one of my favourite nonfiction writers. Like any good one, he always situates the specific instance he writes about within the larger narrative and makes it clear just why this story is important. Although this one wasn't my favourite of his (to be fair, I've rated two of his books 5 stars), it was a worthwhile read and I learned a great deal about this specific incident and broader experiences of Chinese Americans.