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The most extraordinary family you’ve never heard of.
Born to Chinese immigrant parents, the Moy siblings grew up in an America that questioned their citizenship and denied their equality. Sophisticated and self-consciously modern, they challenged limitations and stereotypes in the United States and sought new opportunities in China’s tumultuous republic. Sometimes the risks they took paid off, but their occasional recklessness also led to infidelity, divorce, bankruptcy, and worse. Those in China faced pressure to collaborate with Japanese occupiers, making choices that had serious consequences for their siblings in the United States.Charlotte Brooks’s gripping tale follows the family back and forth across the Pacific and through two world wars, China’s Nationalist and Communist revolutions, and the Cold War—events that the siblings and their spouses helped shape. The Moys’ incredible story offers a kaleidoscopic view of an entire generation’s struggle for acceptance and belonging.
Price: $29.95
Pages: 392
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
10 March 2026
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780520409552
Format: Hardcover
“[Brooks] structures the history in snappy chapters, most only a few pages long, each focusing on a year or two in the life of one family member or another. The result is a soap opera in the best sense of the term. . . . A perceptive peek at an upwardly mobile immigrant family.”
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.
Contents
Editor's Note
Foreword by Helen Zia
Moy Family Tree
Moy Family and World Events Timeline
Prologue
Part One: Family
1. Kay, New York, 1910–1911
2. Ernest, New York, 1910–1914
3. Alice, New York, 1914–1918
4. Kay and Ming Tai, New York and Glen Ridge, 1918–1919
5. Ernest, Chicago and New York, 1915–1922
6. Alice, New York, 1920–1924
7. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1924–1927
8. Ernest and Ruth, New York and Shanghai, 1925–1928
9. Alice and K.S., Shanghai, 1925–1929
10. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1928–1929
11. Ernest and Ruth, New York and Shanghai, 1928–1930
12. Alice, Shanghai, Honolulu, and New York, 1930
Part Two: War
13. Kay and Ming Tai, Glen Ridge and Newark, 1930–1932
14. Ernest and Ruth, Shanghai, 1931–1932
15. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1932–1934
16. Kay and Ming Tai, Newark and New York, 1933–1934
17. Ernest and Ruth, Shanghai and New York, 1933–1934
18. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1934–1936
19. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1935–1937
20. Ernest and Ruth, Shanghai, 1937
21. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai and New York, 1937
22. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1937–1939
23. Ernest and Ruth, New York and Shanghai, 1937–1938
24. Alice and Alfred, New York and Shanghai, 1937–1938
25. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1939–1940
26. Ernest and Ruth, Shanghai and Hong Kong, 1939–1941
27. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1940–1941
28. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1941–1943
29. Ernest and Ruth, China, 1942–1943
30. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1942–1943
31. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1943–1944
32. Ernest and Ruth, Chongqing, Kunming, and Shanghai 1943–1945
33. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1944–1945
34. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1944–1945
35. Ernest and Ruth, Kunming and Shanghai, 1945
36. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1945
Part Three: Revolution
37. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1945–1947
38. Ernest and Ruth, Shanghai, 1945–1949
39. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai and New York, 1946–1949
40. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1949–1950
41. Ernest, Hong Kong and New York, 1950–1953
42. Alice and Alfred, San Francisco and New York, 1952–1955
43. Kay, Ming Tai, and Ernest, New York and Taipei, 1955–1958
44. Siblings, San Francisco, New York, Taipei, and Hong Kong, 1958–1961
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations for Frequently Used Sources
Notes
Note on Methodology and Sources
Index
Editor's Note
Foreword by Helen Zia
Moy Family Tree
Moy Family and World Events Timeline
Prologue
Part One: Family
1. Kay, New York, 1910–1911
2. Ernest, New York, 1910–1914
3. Alice, New York, 1914–1918
4. Kay and Ming Tai, New York and Glen Ridge, 1918–1919
5. Ernest, Chicago and New York, 1915–1922
6. Alice, New York, 1920–1924
7. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1924–1927
8. Ernest and Ruth, New York and Shanghai, 1925–1928
9. Alice and K.S., Shanghai, 1925–1929
10. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1928–1929
11. Ernest and Ruth, New York and Shanghai, 1928–1930
12. Alice, Shanghai, Honolulu, and New York, 1930
Part Two: War
13. Kay and Ming Tai, Glen Ridge and Newark, 1930–1932
14. Ernest and Ruth, Shanghai, 1931–1932
15. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1932–1934
16. Kay and Ming Tai, Newark and New York, 1933–1934
17. Ernest and Ruth, Shanghai and New York, 1933–1934
18. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1934–1936
19. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1935–1937
20. Ernest and Ruth, Shanghai, 1937
21. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai and New York, 1937
22. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1937–1939
23. Ernest and Ruth, New York and Shanghai, 1937–1938
24. Alice and Alfred, New York and Shanghai, 1937–1938
25. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1939–1940
26. Ernest and Ruth, Shanghai and Hong Kong, 1939–1941
27. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1940–1941
28. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1941–1943
29. Ernest and Ruth, China, 1942–1943
30. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1942–1943
31. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1943–1944
32. Ernest and Ruth, Chongqing, Kunming, and Shanghai 1943–1945
33. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1944–1945
34. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1944–1945
35. Ernest and Ruth, Kunming and Shanghai, 1945
36. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai, 1945
Part Three: Revolution
37. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1945–1947
38. Ernest and Ruth, Shanghai, 1945–1949
39. Alice and Alfred, Shanghai and New York, 1946–1949
40. Kay and Ming Tai, New York, 1949–1950
41. Ernest, Hong Kong and New York, 1950–1953
42. Alice and Alfred, San Francisco and New York, 1952–1955
43. Kay, Ming Tai, and Ernest, New York and Taipei, 1955–1958
44. Siblings, San Francisco, New York, Taipei, and Hong Kong, 1958–1961
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations for Frequently Used Sources
Notes
Note on Methodology and Sources
Index