Why do so many Americans practice martial arts? How did kung fu get its own movie genre? What makes mixed martial arts so popular? This book answers these questions for the first time with historical research. At the turn of the 20th century, the United States enjoyed a time of prosperity but feared that men were becoming soft. At the same time, the Japanese government sponsored research to develop the best fighting techniques for its new empire. Before World War II, American men boxed and Japanese men practiced judo and karate. Postwar Americans began adopting Chinese, Brazilian, Filipino and other fighting styles, in the process establishing a masculine subculture based on physical and social power. The rise of Asian martial arts in America is a fascinating untold story of modern history, from the origin of karate uniforms to the first martial arts themed birthday party. The cast of characters includes circus strongmen, professional cage fighters, an award winning comic book artist, the inventors of judo, aikido and Cornflakes, and Count Juan Raphael Dante, a Chicago hairdresser and used car salesman with the "Deadliest Hands in the World." Readers will never look at taekwondo class the same way again.

An invaluable resource, this revised and expanded edition lists every Gl Joe figure and accessory through 2000. Features an updated price guide.

What am I going to do in life? What am I supposed to do? How can I decide what to do when everything looks like a sham? What is this American Dream? Are we not all living our lives on a shoestring? By the time I completed this book I realized the nature of my problem. I rearranged my work to look like an eighteen-hole golf course, and I saw the light. I realized that I was a guitar player living in a golfer's world. We don't understand our leaders because they are golfers, and they are living on a golf course. They don't understand us because we are living on a shoestring. I realized that I was just shooting a bad round. I reformatted my work into a language that the golfer's can understand. I looked at my journey through the American Dream for the last forty years like I was playing a round of golf. As I play the course, I try to stay right in the middle of the fairway, neither hook nor a slice. I try to stay out of the sand traps and avoid the water. Unfortunately, I've had to spend some time in the woods looking for my ball. I hope this book will teach you the attitude that overcomes adversity and an attitude of hope and of humor, because we'll need it. And I hope that I find my ball. See you at the nineteenth hole!

“Mining the age-old tensions between mothers and daughters, Choi’s strong debut is an uproariously funny memoir of growing up with her Korean American family in Los Angeles.... [T]hese are indelible, poignant, and often riotously funny scenes of a daughter’s frustrations and indestructible love.” — Booklist A humorous story about the relationship between a first generation Korean-American and her parents, an alternately funny and poignant narrative showing how it feels to have one foot firmly planted on each side of the Pacific Ocean. Annie Choi’s very Korean mother never stopped annoying her thoroughly Americanized daughter. Growing up near Los Angeles, Annie was continually exasperated by both her mother’s typical Korean harangues—you must get all As and attend Harvard—and non-so-typical eccentricities: stuffing the house with tacky Pope paraphernalia. But when Annie’s mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, the uneasy relationship between mother and daughter changes. Choi’s witty and accessible prose will appeal to any daughter of immigrants, and to anyone who’s had a challenging relationship with their mother.

What do the Bionic Woman, Captain Action, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have in common? They're action figures--and part of the hot new area of collectibles! COMPREHENSIVE. From the A-Team to the X-Men, Big Jim to the Little Mermaid, Desert Patrol to Waterworld, Marvel Superheroes to Masters of the Universe, The Official Price Guide to Action Figures lists more than 8,000 different figures from hundreds of series--with separate introductions to each series and its significance, history, and collectibility. SPECIAL SECTIONS. An on-target market review, a step-by-step look at how an action figure is created--from conception to sculpting to production, and a history of Kenner (a major manufacturer of action figures for the past twenty years). PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. Helpful tips from the experts on starting, building, and maintaining an action figure collection. WRITTEN BY EXPERTS. Stuart Wells III is the former executive editor of Collectible Toys & Values and Triton: Comics, Cards, and Collectibles, monthly magazines covering all types of action figures. Jim Main is the editor and publisher of Action Figure Collector and Barracks: The G.I. Joe Collectors Magazine. FULLY ILLUSTRATED. The Official Price Guide to Action Figures is packed with more than 600 photographs for easy identification. HOUSE OF COLLECTIBLES. Serving collectors for more than thirty-five years

An unconventionally brilliant, darkly funny debut.

Set in New York’s Chinatown in 1976, this sharp and gritty novel is a mystery set against the backdrop of a city in turmoil Robert Chow is a Vietnam vet and an alcoholic. He’s also the only Chinese American cop on the Chinatown beat, and the only police officer who can speak Cantonese. But he’s basically treated like a token, trotted out for ribbon cuttings and community events. So he shouldn’t be surprised when his superiors are indifferent to his suspicions that an old Chinese woman’s death may have actually been a murder. But he sure is angry. With little more than his own demons to fuel him, Chow must take matters into his own hands. Rich with the details of its time and place, this homage to noir will appeal to fans of S.J. Rozan and Michael Connelly.

In "Prisoner of Trebekistan," Harris chronicles his transformation from a struggling standup comic who repeatedly fails the "Jeopardy!" audition test into an elite player competing against the show's most powerful brains.