East Goes West: The Making of an Oriental Yankee A novel by Younghill Kang Book Description . About the Author . Excerpt . Reviews . Events . Buy Books Now Younghill Kang, like his protagonist Chungpa Han, slipped into the United States just before a decades long ban on Asian immigration was enacted. Well-versed in Asian classics and enamored of Western literature, Kang could communicate readily with both East and West, giving him the singular ability to witness and record America's vibrant Asian immigrant communities. While teaching English at New York University, he became acquainted with fellow professor Thomas Wolfe, who introduced him to renowned Charles Scribner's Sons editor, Maxwell Perkins. Perkins edited and published all of Kang's books: The Grass Roof (1931), a children's book based on Kang's early life entitled The Happy Grove (1933), and East Goes West (1937). Throughout his life, Kang was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including two Guggenheim fellowships, the New School's Louis S. Weiss Memorial Prize for Adult Education, France's Le Prix Halperine Kaminsky, and an honorary doctorate in literature from Korea University. Kang died in 1972 at his home in Satellite Beach, Florida. Check out Younghill Kang's other book: The Grass Roof