How to American

An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents

By: Jimmy O. Yang, Mike Judge - foreword

Narrated by: Jimmy O. Yang, Mike Judge

Standup comic, actor and fan favorite from HBO's Silicon Valley and the film Crazy Rich Asians shares his memoir of growing up as a Chinese immigrant in California and making it in Hollywood.

"I turned down a job in finance to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. My dad thought I was crazy. But I figured it was better to disappoint my parents for a few years than to disappoint myself for the rest of my life. I had to disappoint them in order to pursue what I loved. That was the only way to have my Chinese turnip cake and eat an American apple pie too."

Jimmy O. Yang is a standup comedian, film and TV actor and fan favorite as the character Jian Yang from the popular HBO series Silicon Valley. In How to American, he shares his story of growing up as a Chinese immigrant who pursued a Hollywood career against the wishes of his parents: Yang arrived in Los Angeles from Hong Kong at age 13, learned English by watching BET RapCity for three hours a day, and worked as a strip club DJ while pursuing his comedy career. He chronicles a near deportation episode during a college trip Tijuana to finally becoming a proud US citizen 10 years later.

Featuring those and many other hilarious stories, while sharing some hard-earned lessons, How to American mocks stereotypes while offering tongue in cheek advice on pursuing the American dreams of fame, fortune, and strippers.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2018 Jimmy O. Yang, Mike Judge (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Hilarious! Reading this book is like sitting at lunch with your funniest friend whose stories make you laugh until milk comes shooting out your nose. Jimmy O. Yang will teach you how to American like a pro!" (Kevin Kwan, international best-selling author of Crazy Rich Asians)

"Hilarious, heartfelt, and inspiring, How to American captures the Asian-American experience. A must-read for everyone." (Ken Jeong, comedian; actor, The Hangover)

"It's difficult to imagine how excruciatingly uncomfortable it must be for many immigrants to our unforgiving and provocative culture. Absent the nuances of language and behavior we take for granted, Jimmy O. Yang hilariously chronicles his very personal experience from mute, frightened youth to cultural virtuoso and successful performer." (Dr. Drew Pinsky, media personality, author, board-certified physician)

Great perspective of the American Experience

Jimmy is great at creating a visual and audio performance of his written word. He is enthusiastic and his excitement for revealing his personal story makes for a roller-coaster reflective journey with some hilarious mis-adventures. He remains respectful of his family's culture while weaving humorous (and often self-deprecating) memories into a rich story. He truly helps any natural born American to appreciate those things that make the U.S. such a great land of opportunity when seen through fresh eyes.
Loved his voices in the audio book and find it fascinating what he has done through his various experiences.
I'm a fan of Silicon Valley and enjoyed his work in Patriot's Day and Life of the Party. Looking forward to seeing Crazy Rich Asians this summer.

An Amazing Insight into Comedy & Acting

I have never seen Jimmy act. Now I want to download his standup comedy and acting. Jimmy's audio presentation added a lot to the book and made me laugh a lot. Overall the autobiography was excellent!

Wow this is entertaining and insightful

Had no idea who Jimmy O Yang is. I bought this book hoping for something entertaining to fill my daily commune, and this exceeds my expectation way beyond the jokes. Not only it's funny, but insightful and honest in a life and opinions of an immigrant I can relate. High energy reading by the author I wish all the audio books have this standard of narrative. You made it Jimmy, again.

Very Interesting, esp. for international students

As an international student, I totally understand the "interesting struggles" Jimmy shared in this book. If I had to say one thing bad about this book, it would be some mannered contents saying how he loves America.

Good story

Pretty captivating story about Jimmy’s personal experiences and what it is to be an Asian immigrant in the US.

Great Narration, even better story.

Could not shut the audio, literally a page turner. Narrator brings the story to life.

More than worth the money you paid!!

Jimmy speaks from the heart and is very, very entertaining! Some parts are sobering, many parts are so funny. Some parts can be so inspirational! Never boring at all!

Fantastic story

A great view into Jimmy O. Yang's life and his arrival to the US.
Great book!

Laugh out loud

Quick and entertaining read that I found pretty funny. There's also an educational element as Yang described the (to me, unique) challenges and difficulties of growing up in the US as an immigrant from Hong Kong.

Yang's relationship with his father seems very stereotypical of Asian parent-son relationships and his frequent descriptions of the various incidents or conversations were hilarious. The stories from the clubs that he worked in had some unbelievable characters, but it was always clear that Yang worked hard at his comedy, albeit not in school :)

I wasn't overly enamoured with some of the college and Tijuana stories, but overall, the book was funny and enjoyable that'll most likely have you laughing a lot.

Perfectly Relatable

As the daughter of immigrants, UCSD grad and someone who is not using my degree - this book was fuel to my dreams. I can't wait to meet Jimmy! Thank you for sharing your stories!