First published in 1945, Jade Snow Wong's memoir is a classic for all ages. Narrated in the third person, this book is a simply told, moving story of family life in pre-WWII San Francisco Chinatown. Mr. Wong, the patriarch, slowly adapts to his new American home, but he retains his old-world beliefs about gender roles and the importance of propriety. Fortunately his fifth daughter defied convention, attended college and wrote this evocative portrait of early Chinatown.  (SFO08, $13.95)