The Snake Head: an epic tale of the Chinatown underworld and the American Dream / Patrick Radden Keefe
I didn't notice this book when it came in last year but it made the ALA notable books list so I thought it would be good. Boy was ALA right. We hear a lot about illegal Mexican immigrants but not so much about other illegals. Back in the 80's and 90's there were a lot of Chinese coming and the people smuggling business was huge. This book tells the story of one fateful ship that ran aground in Queens with 300 undocumented immigrants and how they ended up there. The Chinese entrepreneurs who managed the "travel" were known as Snake Heads and no one was better than Sister Ping. Some of the events in this book seem so crazy but the author does a good job of documenting the story. - Christa
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