As the number of Asian elders is increasing in the United States of America (USA), so is the volume of research into their ethnic group diversity. This book is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of Asian ethnic group variations especially among older people. The lack of databases with rich information on Asian elders at both national and regional levels makes it difficult to study this population effectively. The analysis covers many topics including the variations in history, socio-economic status, culture, acculturation, attitudes toward health and health-care utilisation, and several other factors representing the characteristics of each Asian ethnic group. The book draws on rich data from a survey conducted by the Asian American Federation of New York and Harris Interactive Research Inc. in 2000, which focused on quality-of-life issues of six groups (Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese) of elders resident in New York City.

The book has nine chapters. The first chapter introduces the historical, political and socio-cultural contexts for each ethnic group. The second explains the methodology of the Asian American Elders in New York City (AAENYC) survey and the data. In addition, demographic profiles derived from the New York City Census 2000 and the US Census 2000 are presented for comparison. In Chapters 3 and 4, health and psychological wellbeing are examined. The fifth chapter discusses traditional family relationships and acculturation. In Chapters 6 and 7, informal support, intergenerational relationships, and formal service utilisation are discussed. Productive ageing, touching on the topics of grandparenting and volunteering, is introduced in Chapter 8. The final chapter proposes implications for practice, policy and research in an effort to provide supportive environments – or so-called ‘elder-friendly communities’.

The authors made every effort to expand our knowledge and added much needed information to the existing literature by covering such a wide range of subjects. The aim of this book is not just to enumerate the ethnic group variations, but rather to ‘fill the knowledge gaps regarding the quality of life of Asian American elders’ (p. 171). As the authors contend from the beginning of the book, Asian American elders face unique challenges that arise from their immigration status, culture and language barriers. In the concluding chapter, the authors suggest that these challenges should be ameliorated to improve quality of life, which can be done by developing Asian-friendly services or programmes such as having ‘bilingual and bi-cultural professionals’ to support this vulnerable population.

This book is well written and well organised. The use of tables in all chapters enables readers easily to make group comparisons across the six Asian ethnicities. The contents in the tables are well interpreted in the text, but there are three things that readers need to keep in mind. First, the data are from 2000 and so this glimpse of Asian elders' quality of life is cross-sectional. Second, the text may be a challenging read for those who are not familiar with the kind of statistical analysis featured in most of the chapters. Finally, the findings cannot be generalised to the USA because the study sample was drawn with the goal of being representative of Asian American elders in New York City only. In developing this book, Mui and Shibusawa have made a big step forward in the study of Asian American elders. The book will be a very interesting and useful resource for students and researchers in many disciplines such as gerontology, social work, nursing, social policy and public health, and also for practitioners who serve Asian elders.