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This recent collection of documents edited by Thomas Tweed and Stephen Prothero is unique in recent literature on Asian religions in America because of the diverse cast of characters it brings together. It is a collection of documents that span a period from 1784 to 1997, and it includes the voices of missionaries, gurus, American converts to Asian traditions, celebrities and the Supreme Court. The collection is divided into four sections; the divisions are based partly on the legal status of Asian immigrants at various periods in American history. The first section is called "Orientations, 1784 to 1840." The second is "Encounters, 1840 to 1924." The third is "Exclusion, 1924 to 1965" and the fourth is called "Passages, 1965 to the Present." Tweed and Prothero also list three themes in their General Introduction which they explain tie this volume together: mapping, meeting, and migration. In their terms, "mapping" consists of the ways in which Americans have attempted to define and understand Asian religions, both before and after the two were introduced. It also includes geographical and architectural manifestations of Asian traditions on American soil. Meeting entails the various types of encounters between Americans and Asian traditions. These encounters were accomplished through meetings with practitioners, viewing art, or reading literature on Asian traditions. Finally, migration deals with Asians and the traditions they brought with them to America, and how these people shaped the development of these traditions in America. The most useful features of this collection include a brief introduction to Asian religions, a short section on further readings, and suggestions on how to approach reading the volume, which are given in the Preface. Tweed's suggestions will be particularly useful to instructors when preparing lesson plans. Some of his suggestions include focusing on a particular time period. For example, if students in a literature course were studying the Transcendentalists, they could refer to documents by Emerson and Thoreau. An alternative method, Tweed suggests, would be to investigate a particular issue. For example, if students in a history or government course wanted to explore documents on the ways in which state and federal courts dealt with issues of Asian immigrants and their religious practices, they could refer to documents from Supreme Court briefs or executive orders from the president. However, there are some drawbacks to this collection as well. It should be noted that this volume, despite its scope, is not as inclusive as its title suggests. For those readers wondering where Islam is, for instance, Tweed explain that the focus of this collection concerns traditions that originated in Asia, which neatly excludes Islam and various other groups. Also, there are few documents by Asians until the fourth section of the book. Perhaps this is because Tweed and Prothero typically use previously published material which had already been translated into English. If instructors are looking for a source that will provide a great variety of voices from Asian immigrant communities, they will have to look elsewhere. On the other hand, Tweed and Prothero have gathered documents from an impressive range of Americans (mostly European-Americans) and American converts to Asian traditions. Instructors and students that want to understand the variety of American responses to the arrival of Asian religions in America will be pleased with the scope of this collection. Amanda Blohm review ©2000 by Amanda Blohm and RSiSS return to Religion in America
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