Charlotte Brooks Book Talk: The Moys of New York and Shanghai

Chronicling the sweeping saga of six Chinese American siblings navigating life across two continents during a century of upheaval.

Born to immigrant parents from Toisan, the Moy siblings grew up in a United States that denied them legal equality and questioned their citizenship. Sophisticated and modern, the siblings rejected racial stereotypes in America while simultaneously seeking new opportunities in China's emerging republic.

Author Charlotte Brooks' book The Moys of New York and Shanghai follows the family through World War I and II, the Great Depression, and the Chinese Nationalist and Communist revolutions. The book serves as a "kaleidoscopic view" of a generation caught between two worlds, illustrating the broader second-generation immigrant struggle for acceptance and belonging.

Join the conversation with author Charlotte Brooks.

Program includes Q&A, book signing, and lunch reception.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charlotte Brooks is Professor of History at Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Center. She is author of American Exodus, Between Mao and McCarthy, and Alien Neighbors, Foreign Friends, and has published widely on Asian American, Chinese American, and Chinese diaspora history. Originally from California, she graduated from Yale and worked in mainland China and Hong Kong before earning a PhD from Northwestern University. She now lives in New York City.