0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Scholarly and well-written, 2000-06-14
This book deals with an important subject -- the interaction between a distinctive immigrant group and the surrounding community; does so in a scholarly and thorough way; and yet is a pleasure to read. I have no background in sociology but I was fascinated by this research, which is presented in an understandable and engaging way.The only caution I'd suggest to other readers is that one should be careful about extrapolating these findings about Sikh farmers in rural California to the larger Indian-American community. The subjects described here are clearly different from many (perhaps most) other Indian-Americans -- in religion, dress, social customs, occupation, education and economic class; so different in fact that I think one should be hesitant about reaching any conclusions about the larger community just from this book. As an Indian-American who grew up and attended high school in suburban New Jersey, I can testify that my own experience was far different from the one described here.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Scholarly and well-written, 2000-06-14
This book deals with an important subject -- the interaction between a distinctive immigrant group and the surrounding community; does so in a scholarly and thorough way; and yet is a pleasure to read. I have no background in sociology but I was fascinated by this research, which is presented in an understandable and engaging way.
The only caution I'd suggest to other readers is that one should be careful about extrapolating these findings about Sikh farmers in rural California to the larger Indian-American community. The subjects described here are clearly different from many (perhaps most) other Indian-Americans -- in religion, dress, social customs, occupation, education and economic class; so different in fact that I think one should be hesitant about reaching any conclusions about the larger community just from this book. As an Indian-American who grew up and attended high school in suburban New Jersey, I can testify that my own experience was far different from the one described here.