From a title-winning boxer in Louisiana to a Broadway baritone in New York, Japanese Americans have long belied their popular representation as “quiet Americans.? Showcasing the lives and achievements of relatively unknown but remarkable people in Nikkei history, scholar and journalist Greg Robinson reveals the diverse experiences of Japanese Americans and explores a wealth of themes, including mixed-race families, artistic pioneers, mass confinement, civil rights activism, and queer history.
Drawn primarily from Robinson's popular writings in the San Francisco newspaper Nichi Bei Weekly and community website Discover Nikkei, The Unsung Great offers entertaining and compelling stories that challenge one-dimensional views of Japanese Americans. This collection breaks new ground by devoting attention to Nikkei beyond the West Coast?including the vibrant communities of New York and Chicago, as well as the little-known history of Japanese Americans in the US South. Expertly researched and accessibly written, The Unsung Great brings to light a constellation of varied and incredible life stories.

Greg Robinson is a professor of history at the Université du Québec À Montréal and the author of several books, including The Unsung Great: Stories of Extraordinary Japanese Americans (University of Washington Press, 2020), After Camp: Portraits in Midcentury Japanese American Life and Politics (University of California Press, 2012), and The Unknown Great: Japanese American Sketches (University Press of Colorado, 2016). He also co-edited (with Frank Abe and Floyd Cheung) John Okada: The Life and Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy (University of Washington Press, 2018), which won the 2019 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation.

Greg Robinson's profile page

• Commended, Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) Book Awards

"There are many subjects of interest in this book...The best essays are those that highlight one particular person, delving under the surface to better understand their character, or one specific subject."

North American Post

"Japanese Americans and non-Japanese Americans alike will benefit tremendously, as I certainly did, from Greg Robinson's inspired sleuthing and artful renderings of his findings."

Nichi Bei Weekly