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A Different Mirror for Young People

A History of Multicultural America

Roland Takaki Rebecca Stefoff A. Naomi Paik

$110

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English
Seven Stories Press,U.S.
07 July 2026
The groundbreaking multicultural history of America, adapted for younger readers, now in a revised and updated edition with 100 pages of new material.

""An excellent way to include multi-ethnic materials in the classroom as a way to ensure that your students see their unique identities reflected in their coursework."" -Skipping Stones

In Ronald Takaki's multicultural masterwork, the story of America includes the Native, African, Irish, Jewish, Asian, and Latino people-and many more-who made America their home, and who often fought for rights now enjoyed by all. A Different Mirror for Young People is widely hailed as the most important resource to ""teach

Americans

to value the nation's inescapable diversity"" (New York Times Book Review) and has been adopted into middle and high school curricula around the country.

With a new chapter and revisions throughout, University of Illinois professor A. Naomi Paik brings this ""brilliant revisionist history"" (Publishers Weekly) into the 21st century. The new material examines growing inequality in the U.S., the intensifying War on Terror that further targets and marginalizes immigrants, and, in the uplifting spirit of the original book, the emergence of social movements including land and water protections and migrant justice movements.

Drawing on Takaki's vast array of primary sources, and staying true to his own words whenever possible, A Different Mirror for Young People brings ethnic history alive through the words of people, including teenagers, who recorded their experiences in letters, diaries, and poems. Like Howard Zinn's A People's History, another title in the For Young People series, Takaki's A Different Mirror offers a rich and rewarding ""people's view"" perspective on the American story.

""The 'mirror' that Ronald Takaki holds up to the United States reflects a multicultural history of oppression and exploitation, but also struggle, solidarity, and community. In the most profound sense, this is a people's history of our country. Takaki shows what has torn us apart, yet what knits us together."" -Bill Bigelow, curriculum editor, Rethinking Schools, and co-director, Zinn Education Project
By:  
Revised by:  
Adapted by:  
Imprint:   Seven Stories Press,U.S.
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 203mm,  Width: 140mm,  Spine: 37mm
Weight:   675g
ISBN:   9781644215951
ISBN 10:   1644215950
Series:   For Young People Series
Pages:   512
Publication Date:  
Recommended Age:   From 14 to 18 years
Audience:   Children/juvenile ,  English as a second language
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming

RONALD TAKAKI (1939-2009) was recognized as one of the foremost scholars of American ethnic history and diversity. He is the author of the multiple award-winning books Strangers from a Distant Shore- A History of Asian Americans and A Different Mirror- A History of Multicultural America. REBECCA STEFOFF is the author of more than 100 nonfiction books for children and young adults, and she has adapted several best-selling history books for younger readers, including Howard Zinn's masterpiece, published as A Young People's History of the United States by Seven Stories Press. A. NAOMI PAIK is an associate professor of Criminology, Law, & Justice and Global Asian Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She published Rightlessness- Testimony and Redress in U.S. Prison Camps since World War II (UNC Press, 2016; winner, Best Book in History, AAAS 2018; runner-up, John Hope Franklin prize for best book in American Studies, ASA, 2017). Her book Bans, Walls, Raids, Sanctuary- Understanding U.S. Immigration for the 21st Century (2020, University of California Press), examines the long-developing criminalization of foreign-born people in the United. Her research and teaching interests include comparative ethnic studies; U.S. imperialism; U.S. militarism; social and cultural approaches to legal studies; transnational and women of color feminisms; carceral spaces; and labor, race, and migration. https-//naomipaik.com/ REBECCA STEFOFF is the author of more than 100 nonfiction books for children and young adults, and she has adapted several best-selling history books for younger readers.

Reviews for A Different Mirror for Young People: A History of Multicultural America

“[A Different Mirror is] a splendid achievement, a bold and refreshing new approach to our national history. The research is meticulous, the writing powerful and eloquent, with what can only be called an epic sweep across time and cultures.” —Howard Zinn “This 375-page book would be an excellent way to include multi-ethnic materials in the classroom as a way to ensure that your students see their unique identities reflected in their coursework.” —Skipping Stones “A Different Mirror advances a truly humane sense of American possibility.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr. ""The 'mirror' that Ronald Takaki holds up to the United States reflects a multicultural history of oppression and exploitation, but also struggle, solidarity, and community. In the most profound sense, this is a people's history of our country. Takaki shows what has torn us apart, yet what knits us together. This young people's version of A Different Mirror will introduce a new generation to Takaki's pathbreaking scholarship."" —Bill Bigelow, curriculum editor, Rethinking Schools, and co-director, Zinn Education Project


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