Pursuing the American Dream

<p>During the gold rush era in California (1848-1855) the Chinese referred to the United States as Gold Mountain or Gam Saan in Cantonese a name inspired by the gold fields of California. Thousands of Chinese immigrants came to Gam Saan to seek their fortunes and live the American Dream. For many of them owning a grocery store provided the means to pursue the American Dream. Tucson Arizona is one of many US communities that have Chinese-owned grocery stores.</p><p>These are some of the questions answered in this book:</p><ul><li>What were the US laws and China policies that impacted Chinese immigration?</li><li>How did the Chinese grocery stores survive in a competitive environment?</li><li>Why did the Chinese-owned grocery stores decline in Tucson?</li><li>How did the Tucson Chinese Community address the needs of store owners and their families?</li></ul><p></p><p>The author's parents sold groceries from the back of their truck in rural Arizona for nine years before they ran their first grocery store. There are more than eighty-five stories told by grocery truck/store owners or by their children/grandchildren in this book.</p>