Originally published in 1988 to great acclaim, this new paperback edition of Robert J. Schwendinger’s pioneering work: "Ocean of Bitter Dreams" sheds critical light on the history of the infamous coolie trade, maritime policy and foreign relations, and the human cost of one of the great tragedies in the Chinese Diaspora. "Ocean of Bitter Dreams" will stand for decades as one of the most authoritative accounts of the history of the Chinese in the United States. “Ocean of Bitter Dreams appears to be the most authoritative account which presents the history of maritime relations from the point of view of those who are typically overlooked by historians. Though others have written about abuses of human rights in the coolie trade, nobody else has documented as thoroughly…the spill-over of such abuses in the latter development of maritime relations between China and America.” --Victor Nee, co-author of Longtime Californ’: A Documentary Study of an American Chinatown “This is an important book, not only for those of us with an incessant interest in the past, but even more for those who hope for the future. It has rare honesty and scope of vision. --International Examiner “This is a powerful book, carefully crafted and documented, which will move us a giant step forward in humanizing what has been a neglected part of our nation’s history.” --Sandy Lydon, author of Chinese Gold: The Chinese in the Monterey Bay Region “Anyone who would understand the past, present, and future of Chinese and American relationships would do well to place this book at the head of any reading list.” --Midwest Book Review
