Available instantly

Hardcover
$13.88

Paperback
$19.12

$19.12

$3.99 delivery July 10 - 16. Details

Or fastest delivery July 3 - 9. Details

In stock
Usually ships within 4 to 5 days.

$$19.12 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Ships from

ARSMEDIA_LLC

Sold by

ARSMEDIA_LLC

Returns

30-day refund/replacement

Payment

Secure transaction

$8.78

Item in good Condition. The spine may show signs of wear. The books may not contain CD, DVD or ACCESS CODE and dust jacket may be missing.There are underlined/highlighted sentences. + Customer service! Satisfaction Guaranteed! Item in good Condition. The spine may show signs of wear. The books may not contain CD, DVD or ACCESS CODE and dust jacket may be missing.There are underlined/highlighted sentences. + Customer service! Satisfaction Guaranteed! See less

$3.99 delivery July 10 - 16. Details

Or fastest delivery July 3 - 9. Details

In stock

$$19.12 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Ships from and sold by ARSMEDIA_LLC.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (12) from $5.27 + $3.99 shipping

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Jennifer 8. Lee

Follow

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food Paperback – Bargain Price, March 23, 2009

by Jennifer 8. Lee (Author)

350 ratings

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$19.12","priceAmount":19.12,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"19","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"12","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"SoCo7dG6giUQUVDQEHxyXFschfIqoS%2FhPJhx5nmcmE0XUmgIIAS9WB14ZtpgxyTEwNmRZ8tVc%2BvY1KATPWC2VcJvXrBFRFQi%2FL6WV3EjnTdp6DM5tB6NI%2FwzZA2DXodVT9LIDxvy%2BCvtxMYtm9K2htvdrVACQLhFMI5RSIkONW%2BTJjbyZKh47aTGhaXpFRW7","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.78","priceAmount":8.78,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"78","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"SoCo7dG6giUQUVDQEHxyXFschfIqoS%2FhPJhx5nmcmE0XUmgIIAS9WB14ZtpgxyTEwNmRZ8tVc%2BvY1KATPWC2VcJvXrBFRFQifu3ESq2CS%2FsqFDiUhHa%2FzgLgE5vmTt9UZc2B0FUE%2BCcSREaezqUp6VQ5y8D15Cn1xXFmScYNSnRZji854iShSXvW%2BhfxPx3O","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

If you think McDonald's is the most ubiquitous restaurant experience in America, consider that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Wendys combined. New York Times reporter and Chinese-American (or American-born Chinese). In her search, Jennifer 8 Lee traces the history of Chinese-American experience through the lens of the food. In a compelling blend of sociology and history, Jenny Lee exposes the indentured servitude Chinese restaurants expect from illegal immigrant chefs, investigates the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and weaves a personal narrative about her own relationship with Chinese food. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles speaks to the immigrant experience as a whole, and the way it has shaped our country.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Lee travels wide and digs deep to unearth the answers to several burning questions...
From all-you-can-eat buffets in Kansas to the small southern Chinese village of Jietoupu, where she tracks down descendants of General Tso (who, natch, have never heard of, seen or tasted their forefather's infamous chicken dish), the author takes readers by the hand and brings them on her adventure.

(The Washington Post Christine Y. Chen )

"Readers will take an unexpected and entertaining journey-through culinary, social and cultural history-in this delightful first book on the origins of the customary after-Chinese-dinner treat by New York Times reporter Lee. ... Lee also pries open factoids and tidbits of American culture that eventually touch on large social and cultural subjects such as identity, immigration and nutrition. Copious research backs her many lively anecdotes, and being American-born Chinese yet willing to scrutinize herself as much as her objectives, she wins the reader over. Like the numbers on those lottery fortunes, the book's a winner." (Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review )

"Jennifer 8. Lee has cracked the world of Chinese restaurants like a fortune cookie. Her book is an addictive dim-sum of fact, fun, quirkiness and pathos. It's Anthony Bourdain meets Calvin Trillin. Lee is the kind of reporter I can only dream of being: committed, compassionate, resourceful, and savvy. I devoured this book in two nights (in bed), and suggest you do the same." (Mary Roach, author of STIFF and SPOOK )

"Those of us who eat Chinese food are lucky to have Jennifer Lee as a guide to the modern global migrations and individual ingenuity that have made it the world's favorite cuisine. " (Sasha Issenberg, author of THE SUSHI ECONOMY )

"[Lee] embeds her subject's history in an entertaining personal narrative, eschewing cookie-cutter interviews and dry lists of facts and figures . . . she has a breezy, likable literary demeanor that makes the first-person material engaging. Thanks to Lee's journalistic chops, the text moves along energetically even in its more expository sections . . . Tasty morsels delivered quickly and reliably."
(Kirkus Reviews )

About the Author

Jennifer 8 Lee, the daughter of Chinese immigrants and a fluent speaker of Mandarin Chinese herself, grew up eating her mother's authentic Chinese food in her family's New York City kitchen before graduating from Harvard in 1999 with a degree in Applied Mathematics and economics and studying at Beijing University. At the age of 24, she was hired by the New York Times, where she is a metro repoter and has written a variety of stories on culture, poverty, and technology.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003P2VDF6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Twelve
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 23, 2009
Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #200 in Chinese Cooking, Food & Wine
- #346 in Asian & Asian American Biographies
- #734 in Culinary Biographies & Memoirs

Customer Reviews:
350 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Jennifer 8. Lee

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Jennifer 8. Lee is a journalist and founder of Plympton, a literary studio. She was a metropolitan reporter at The New York Times, where she has worked for many years. She harbors a deep obsession for Chinese food, the product of which is The Fortune Cookie Chronicles (Twelve, 2008), which explores how Chinese food is all-American.At the Times, she has written about poverty, the environment, crime, politics, and technology. She has been called, by NPR, a "conceptual scoop artist." One of her better known articles is on the Man Dates, and also on the fastest growing baby name in the history of America.She was born and raised in New York City, attending Hunter College Elementary School and Hunter College High School for a total of 14 years. She majored in applied math and economics at Harvard, where she also angsted a lot about The Harvard Crimson, a fabulous start-up magazine called Diversity & Distinction, and the Asian American Association. After college, she fled to China and spent a year at Beijing University studying international relations. She has a younger sister named Frances (foreign exchange programmer) and a younger brother named Kenneth (actuary). If you string their first initials together, it spells JFK, which their parents tease is the airport they landed at when they first came to the United States. (though currently, JFK is her least favorite of the NYC airports).She has a purple stuffed hippo named Hubba Bubba who travels the world with her. She used to know how to solve a Rubiks Cube, though is a bit rusty now. And she has always harbored fantasies of being a fortune cookie message scribe. She lives in Harlem (about four blocks away from her parents). She makes great turkey fried dumplings (recipe from mom).She is a former member of the Poynter Institute National Advisory Board, a board member of the Asian American Writers Workshop, and has been featured in the Esquire Women We Love issue.

Customer reviews

350 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Review this product

Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book entertaining and engaging, with interesting background and facts that provide insight into Chinese food history. The writing style receives positive feedback, with one customer noting its lively reportorial tone, and customers appreciate its humor. The book's material quality is good, and while many customers say it holds their attention from beginning to end, opinions on readability are mixed.

Select to learn more

Enjoyment Insight Writing style Humor Material quality Readability

53 customers mention "Enjoyment"53 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and interesting, describing it as a good airplane read, with one customer noting its fun and colloquial tone.

"...This book is, fun, interesting, entertaining and, informative without being dry...." Read more

"...I also do have to admit that I found this to be a fascinating and revealing book about a myriad of topics relating to Chinese cuisine, the fortune..." Read more

"Let me say that the book is generally entertaining. The book, in my opinion suffers from the problem of a good idea that got lost...." Read more

"...for studying her subject and produces insights that are subtle, interesting and thought-provoking...." Read more

45 customers mention "Insight"45 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful, providing good exploration of the topic with interesting background and facts that offer historical context.

"...This book is, fun, interesting, entertaining and, informative without being dry...." Read more

"...I loved the two-fold premise of the book, tracking the iconic fortune cookie from its creation in Japan, or maybe Korea, or possibly even California..." Read more

"...in restaurants are told in a lively reportorial style that still provokes thought...." Read more

"...4 nights before going to bed to finish it, and you will find it very educational and fun...." Read more

23 customers mention "Writing style"18 positive5 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, describing it as cleverly written and easy to read, with one customer noting its lively reportorial approach and wry humor.

"...around the nation to work in restaurants are told in a lively reportorial style that still provokes thought...." Read more

"...for spending a monumental amount of time, energy, and effort in writing such an excellent book." Read more

"...And she brings many of her points home with a tidy turn of phrase: "Young professionals loved the idea that food could come from a phone rather..." Read more

"...It has no narrative point in this book. It seems like she ran out of material and just dumped this in to pad out the book...." Read more

6 customers mention "Humor"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the humor in the book, with one noting how it is told with grace and another mentioning its ironic tone.

"...She has a tone that is a bit ironic, a bit whimsical...." Read more

"...She writes well, and has a sense of humor about some of the items that is somewhat infectious...." Read more

"...Every chapter is a tale or a part of a larger tale, told with grace and humor and unalloyed humanity...." Read more

"...our there but Lee does a good job compiling everything while adding humorous narrative...." Read more

3 customers mention "Material quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the material quality of the book, with one noting it is well crafted and another mentioning it arrived in excellent condition.

"...Point well-taken and backed up with her material. Americans have a need for "Americanization" - truth!..." Read more

"...So well done, so well crafted, and so fun to read. Read a library copy, but then wanted to refer back to it so I had to purchase my own copy." Read more

"Fast delivery excellent condition. This is my second copy of this ......" Read more

9 customers mention "Readability"6 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability, with some saying it held their attention from beginning to end, while others find it hard to put down.

"...What a book! It takes the reader literally around the world to answer the perennial question of where fortune cookies truly come from...." Read more

"...The only drawback is that the narrative drags on a bit." Read more

"...Very informative and insightful. Really hard to stop reading." Read more

"So many interesting facts. Held my attention from beginning to end. Loved it!" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

RICHARD LEE
DON'T MISS THIS ONE
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2024
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Don't listen to those who gave this one or two stars. This is not text book where there will be a test at its conclusion. This book is, fun, interesting, entertaining and, informative without being dry.
Jennifer 8 Lee has certainly done her research, how could she not and, she takes you with her as she travels the world.
How else would you know that Peru has the largest Chinese population and the most Chinese restaurants in Latin America. Or, Mauritius a tiny island half the size of Rhode Island in the Indian Ocean. And who staffs some of the restaurants in Jamaica in the absence of enough Chinese workers. How would you know that there are more forty thousand Chinese restaurants in the U.S., more than the number of McDonalds, Burger Kings, and KFCs combined.
Who would have thought, from a fortune cookie and some Power Ball numbers you could learn the ins and outs of buying, owning and, selling a Chinese restaurant. The migration of those that staff Chinese restaurants all over the world, where do they come from? Who really invented the fortune cookie and where?
For me, like some movies, I didn't want this story to end. And like a movie you could sit and watch it again, so goes this book, I am beginning to reread it

Read more

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
TravellingCari
General Tso's Book
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2017
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
American Chinese food is, to me, a fascinating concept as it’s neither American nor Chinese – as the author found when she tried to trace General Tso in his home town and found the military hero, not the culinary genius. This book almost couldn’t have been written without the show and tell of digital photography where she used her camera to show various dishes as she tried to track them across China. This coming from a woman who spoke Mandarin was essential as I don’t think she’d have gotten half the stories she did without that tie.

I loved the two-fold premise of the book, tracking the iconic fortune cookie from its creation in Japan, or maybe Korea, or possibly even California to the winning lottery tickets as well as the author’s own heritage. Her early chapters, and the final wrap including her father, who was “a PhD away from being a delivery man” being admonished not to leave menus when he brought food to a sick friend, reminded me a little of Steven Shaw’s Setting the Table as he was also a fan of Upper West Side Chinese. The book perfectly toed the line between memoirs and food & travel writing and is a fit for fans of both genres.

I especially enjoyed her trip around the world to find the “best” Chinese food. Such a fun part of travel. Although I’m not personally a huge fan of Chinese food, I might have to sample more of it.

Read more

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Donald M. Bishop
Lively, bright, readable, entertaining, educational, enlarging
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2008
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
The opening chapters of this book by Jenneifer 8. Lee have a merry verve. Who invented chop suey, a dish unknown in China? Who was this General Tso, anyway? (A Chinese Colonel Sanders, perhaps?) Can it be true that Japanese invented the fortune cookie? (Gasp!) But there's more to this book than Kung Pao chicken, chopsticks, and zodiac calendars.

Chapters on Chinese immigration and the movement of immigrants around the nation to work in restaurants are told in a lively reportorial style that still provokes thought. They give stale discussions of immigration policy a human face, and her visits to China bring alive such abstractions as "push" and "pull" factors.

Sprightly chapters on the business side of restaurants and supplies -- and "The Soy Sauce Trade Dispute" -- deliver a lot of commonsense economics in a most agreeable way. The economic side of the book culminates in a theory of "open source" economic adaptation that is, to this reader, quite fresh.

Finally, the book has a lot to say about America, our history, and our culture. Lee even proposes a new metaphor to replace the old "melting pot" and the newer "salad bowl." Our nation is "stir-fry," she writes. We'll see whether the new label gets a larger market share among academics and pundits.

Finally, an advisory: Reading this book is like watching the Ang Lee film, "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman." As soon as you put it down, you'll have a strong urge to drive to the nearest Golden Dragon, Peking Gourmet, or Hunan Garden and order too much.

-30-

Read more

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
mrmoskowitz1
An Insightful Book
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2008
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
I do have to admit that I am in the book as inventing the Fortune Album, but I also do have to admit that I found this to be a fascinating and revealing book about a myriad of topics relating to Chinese cuisine, the fortune cookie, and about Chinese culture in general.

My favorite Chapters in the book are as follows:

Chapter 8: The Golden Venture: Restaurant Workers to Go - in which Jennifer describes the process of immigrating to the United States for the sole purpose of working in the Chinese restaurant industry.

Chapter 12: The Soy Sauce Trade Dispute - How the largest manufacturer of packeted soy sauce does not use soybeans in their product!

Chapter 16: Tsujiura Senbei - The real nation that invented the fortune cookie and how the Chinese "stole" it and marketed it to what it is today.

But to be honest, I found the whole book to be a true labor of love, from describing how the concept of delivery of Chinese food came about, how the Chinese came to own so many restaurants and laundromats, the Chop Suey revolution, the state of the Fortune Cookie industry, why Jewish people love Chinese food, the discovery of the Greatest Chinese Restaurant in the World, and the contrast between Chinese parents and American parents.

So go buy the book. It takes about 4 nights before going to bed to finish it, and you will find it very educational and fun.

Congratulations, Jennifer, for spending a monumental amount of time, energy, and effort in writing such an excellent book.

Read more

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report

Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on April 22, 2016
Verified Purchase

Really enjoyed the book!

Read more
Report
Lesley Morrison
happy customer
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
Delivery spot on, book appears perfect. Just started reading and have to force myself to put it down.

Read more
Report
William Chan
Good knowledgeable book
Reviewed in Canada on September 28, 2018
Verified Purchase
This book is great for people who want to learn more about asian cuisine in America, mainly chinese, I give intriguing stories for the readers to view.

Read more
Report
Peter Scott
It is not about the 'world' of chinese food, but mostly the US. Some interesting themes.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2015
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
This book was a disappointment. I heard a review of it on a radio food programme. As a result I was expecting a book that described Chinatowns and restaurants from around the world. However the book is mostly about chinese-style catering in the United States and people smuggling from the east into the US. The anecdotes about how the migrants worked hard to open restaurants were sometimes interesting but rather repetitive. The overall picture was of chronic bastardisation of chinese recipes and techniques to meet American tastes. Dishes unheard of in the UK like General Tso's Chicken are, it seems, universal in the US. The author discovered that it is a chinese dish, but it became unrecognisable when cooked in the US. Unsurprisingly it is sweet and crisp there, rather than savoury. I was quite shocked, but probably not surprised, to discover that the soy sauce produced in the US is just a factory, chemical, fake product with no fermented soy in it at all. There is a section about restaurants around the world at the end but it gives little useful information. It is true that the fortune cookie is a theme that runs through the book and is an interesting story. Lee has followed up this and a few other threads systematically. It turns out that mass migration using people smugglers is not a new story, and the stories Lee tells about that are also interesting. That is why I have given three stars. Initially I had intended two.

Of limited interest to UK readers.

Read more
Report

See more reviews

Buy new:

Save with Used - Good

Follow the author

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food Paperback – Bargain Price, March 23, 2009

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Jennifer 8. Lee

Customer reviews

Review this product

Customers say

Select to learn more

Images in this review

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

5.0 out of 5 stars DON'T MISS THIS ONE

4.0 out of 5 stars General Tso's Book

5.0 out of 5 stars Lively, bright, readable, entertaining, educational, enlarging

5.0 out of 5 stars An Insightful Book

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

5.0 out of 5 stars happy customer

4.0 out of 5 stars Good knowledgeable book

3.0 out of 5 stars It is not about the 'world' of chinese food, but mostly the US. Some interesting themes.

DON'T MISS THIS ONE

General Tso's Book

Lively, bright, readable, entertaining, educational, enlarging

An Insightful Book

Five Stars

happy customer

Good knowledgeable book

It is not about the 'world' of chinese food, but mostly the US. Some interesting themes.