Filipino American History Books
/Please note that books by and about Filipinos and Filipino Americans are sold by the following independent bookstores, which we hope you will support:
Arkipelago Books in San Francisco: https://www.arkipelagobooks.com/
Eastwind Books of Berkeley: https://www.asiabookcenter.com/
Philippine Expressions Bookshop in Southern California: https://philippinebookshop.com/
Growing Up Brown
Memoirs of a Filipino American
By Peter M. Jamero Sr.
Peter Jamero’s story of hardship and success illuminates the experience of what he calls the “bridge generation” -- the American-born children of the Filipinos recruited as farm workers in the 1920s and 30s. Their experiences span the gap between these early immigrants and those Filipinos who owe their U.S. residency to the liberalization of immigration laws in 1965. His book is a sequel of sorts to Carlos Bulosan’s America Is in the Heart, with themes of heartbreaking struggle against racism and poverty and eventual triumph.
Jamero describes his early life in a farm-labor camp in Livingston, California, and the path that took him, through naval service and graduate school, far beyond Livingston. A longtime community activist and civic leader, Jamero describes decades of toil and progress before the Filipino community entered the sociopolitical mainstream. He shares a wealth of anecdotes and reflections from his career as an executive of health and human service programs in Sacramento, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and San Francisco.
Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans
by Fred Cordova
"Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans" is a pictorial- essay which gives the reader a sweeping vista of the presence and life of Filipinos in America from 1763 to 1963 through collection of 250 photographs, documents and 22 essays. Although Filipinos settled in North America before the American Revolution, very little known about them and even less is available in libraries, resource centers or institutions of higher education. This book is a must for every Filipino home in the world.
Twenty-Five Chickens and a Pig for a Bride: Growing up in a Filipino Immigrant Family
by Evangeline Canonizado Buell
In Twenty-five Chickens and a Pig for a Bride, Evangeline Canonizado Buell weaves a frank and inspiring memoir that both enlightens and moves readers. She relates her triumphant struggles over racial and gender discrimination and unravels the dogged determination of her family to achieve a better life for their children. Their hard work and indomitable fighting spirit, as well as their strong belief in preserving their culture and heritage, exemplify the many immigrant groups that make up America today.