New Release from Heyday Books: September 2007

Under the Dragon California’s New Culture by Lonny Shavelson and Fred Setterberg with photographs by Lonny Shavelson Published in conjunction with the Oakland Museum of California’s upcoming exhibit of the work as “Trading Traditions,” from January to April 2008.   From the Foreword: “Under the Dragon is a…tour guide to what the authors call ‘an unfamiliar country’ …where…diversity has gone into hyperspace in a region where multiculturalism is already considered passé.” Andrew Lam, author of Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora.

Click for the Under the Dragon web site
Visit the Under the Dragon blog

What’s next after multiculturalism? California forges new frontiers.

When Lonny Shavelson and Fred Setterberg were viewing the Saint Patrick’s Day parade in San Francisco, they were surprised to see a Chinese lion dance. They were even more surprised when the lion dancer emerged and turned out to be an African-American teenager.

Phrases like “melting pot" and "ethnic diversity” no longer describe the freedom with which Americans are modifying and assimilating cultural elements across ethnic lines. Under the Dragon is a fascinating look at the way individuals are building their own identities from an increasingly diverse pool, whether they are African American Buddhists, Latino Muslims, or a group of Mien students who invented their own cultural dance in order to celebrate an ethnic heritage.

The stories behind the photographs will inspire you to look again.

Order information
Under the Dragon is available at bookstores, through major distributors including Ingram, Baker and Taylor, or by contacting Heyday Books directly at (510) 549-3564, ext. 304, via fax at (510) 549-1889, by email at orders@heydaybooks.com, or by visiting our website at www.heydaybooks.com

Advance Praise:

“Under the Dragon documents the decreasing relevance of ‘race’ and the growing importance of community as we continue to mix, mingle, marry, and migrate.”
—Kip Fulbeck, author of Part Asian, 100% Hapa

“Ambitious and marvelously vibrant, Under the Dragon provides a captivating and astutely documented take on California’s changing cultural and ethnic intersections. It offers, by arresting photographic example, a fresh lesson in the things that divide and unite us all.”
—Chandra Prasad, editor of Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience

“Under the Dragon is a joyful celebration of diversity and a compelling case for stretching beyond our own assumptions about our differences.”
—Janice Mirikitani, San Francisco Poet Laureate, 2000

About the Authors

Lonny Shavelson is a writer, photojournalist, radio journalist, and physician whose articles and photographs have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, People, Mother Jones, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times and many others. His radio stories have aired on NPR, The World, The California Report and other shows nationally. Shavelson is the author of six books, most recently Hooked: Five Addicts Challenge Our Misguided Drug Rehab System.

Fred Setterberg is the author of The Roads Taken: Travels through America’s Literary Landscapes, co-author with Lonny Shavelson of Toxic Nation: The Fight to Save Our Communities from Chemical Contamination, and the editor of Travelers’ Tales America. His work has been featured in the New York Times, The Nation, the Utne Reader, the Columbia Journalism Review, and scores of other national and regional magazines.  

Under the Dragon
California’s New Culture
Lonny Shavelson and Fred Setterberg
ISBN: 978-1-59714-045-4 / $24.95
Trade Paper (9 x 11) / 160 pages
with 80 color photographs
Publication date: September 2007
Published by Heyday Books
A project of Heyday Institute

For interviews and review copy requests
Please email your request with detailed information about your publication or organization to wendy@heydaybooks.com, or call (510) 549-3564, ext. 309.

To sponsor a reading or event with Shavelson and Setterberg
Please email your request with detailed information about your publication or organization to events@heydaybooks.com, or call (510) 549-3564, ext. 316.

Heyday Institute Founded in 1974 by Malcolm Margolin, Heyday is dedicated to producing high-quality, accessible books about California. Its highly respected list of titles covers history and culture, natural history, literature, poetry, art, photography, and California Indian life. In 2004, Heyday Books became Heyday Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For new title information, author events, and more, visit Heyday on the web at www.heydaybooks.com