Open Book, Open Mind; Michael Luo, "Strangers in the Land"
New Yorker writer and executive editor Michael Luo will talk to Matthew Purdy, editor at large of The New York Times, about about his landmark study, "Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America." Co-presented by AAPI New Jersey.
“You can’t paint a complete picture of America without [the story of Chinese Americans], and the New Yorker journalist Michael Luo tells it persuasively in 'Strangers in the Land'... [The book] succeeds through its little biographies of individuals – a range of quirky and fascinating figures, both Chinese and white, who drive the narrative. . . [and offer] a view on the full complexity of American immigration.” —The New York Times Book Review
Doors open at 6 p.m. The discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A and book sales and signing with Watchung Booksellers.
Open Book / Open Mind is sponsored by Montclair Public Library Foundation, Watchung Booksellers, Anonymous, David and Mary Lee Jones, and our individual Underwriters. We are also grateful for the generous support of our in-kind sponsors, First Congregational Church of Montclair, The George, and Amanti Vino. To support Open Book / Open Mind and other library programs, click here to donate.
- Date:
- Thursday, April 23, 2026
- Time:
- 6:30pm - 8:00pm
- Location:
- Montclair Main - Auditorium, Montclair Main - Conference Room
- BCCLS Library:
- Montclair Public Library
- Audience:
- Adults
- Categories:
- Adult School Open Book / Open Mind
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Luo is an executive editor at The New Yorker who writes regularly for the magazine on politics, religion, and Asian American issues. Before that, he spent thirteen years at the New York Times, as a metro reporter, national correspondent, and investigative reporter and editor. He is a recipient of a George Polk Award and a Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
ABOUT THE BOOK
"'Strangers in the Land' tells the story of a people who, beginning in the middle of the 19 century, migrated by the tens of thousands to a distant land they called Gum Shan––Gold Mountain. Americans initially welcomed these Chinese arrivals, but, as their numbers grew, horrific episodes of racial terror erupted on the Pacific coast. A prolonged economic downturn that idled legions of white workingmen helped create the conditions for what came next: a series of progressively more onerous federal laws aimed at excluding Chinese laborers from the country, marking the first time the United States barred a people based on their race. In a captivating debut, Michael Luo follows the Chinese from these early years to modern times, as they persisted in the face of bigotry and persecution, revealing anew the complications of our multiracial democracy."—Doubleday/Penguin Random House
ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER
Matthew Purdy is an editor at large at The New York Times. He has worked at the Times for over 30 years, most recently as a deputy managing editor who helped shepherd the Times’s biggest investigative projects, including three that won Pulitzer Prizes. He is a longtime resident of Montclair.
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