“Discipline. Patience. Perseverance”: “Khaled Hosseini: By the Book,” New York Times, June 6, 2013.
Google, Facebook, or the iPod: Amy Chua, “Tiger Mom’s Long Distance Cub,” Wall Street Journal, Dec. 24, 2011.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon when he was “dead broke”: Robert Spector, Amazon.com: Get Big Fast (New York: HarperCollins, 2000), p. 84.
The present moment by itself is too small: See Rubenfeld, Freedom and Time, p. 16; Jed Rubenfeld, Revolution by Judiciary: The Structure of American Constitutional Law (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005), p. 91 (“[A] person’s freedom . . . is bound up with his capacity to give his life purposes of his own making and to pursue those purposes over time”).
Happiness . . . “cannot be pursued”: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (New York: Harper Perennial, 1991), p. 2 (quoting Victor Frankl).
INDEX
The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take you to the beginning of that print page. You may need to scroll forward from that location to find the corresponding reference on your e-reader.
academic achievement, see education and academic achievement
Academy Awards, 52, 163
Acemoglu, Daron, 17n
Achebe, Chinua, 81
Adams, James Truslow, 18
Adler, Alfred, 59n
Adventures of Augie March, The (Bellow), 162, 163
African Americans, 2, 100, 156
elite schools and, 172
equality and, 76–77, 80–81
at Harvard University, 6, 41–42
income of, 43–44
Mormons and, 30–31
“oppositional” urban culture and, 222
poverty and, 44, 74–75
self-esteem of, 112
stereotype threat and, 78, 80, 81
superiority complex and, 72–78
at Yale Law School, 42
see also African immigrants; blacks
African immigrants, 105, 156, 194
Nigerian, see Nigerian Americans
at universities, 41–42
upward mobility and, 168
alcohol abuse, 150, 216
Alexander, Clifford, 43
Alexander, Elizabeth, 73
Alexander the Great, 90–91
Allen, Woody, 52, 108
Amanat, Abbas, 92
Amazon, 224
America, 26–27
Constitution, 2, 62, 204–6, 209
debt in, 215
Declaration of Independence, 204–6
exceptionalism of, 201, 219
impulse control and, 142–44, 197, 200, 203–6, 208–9, 214–18, 221–24
infrastructure in, 215
insecurity and, 200–203, 208–12, 214, 215, 218, 220–21
live-in-the-moment message and, 1, 2, 10, 27, 143–44, 204, 205, 207–9, 214, 224
rebelliousness of, 204, 205, 208
research and development in, 215
Revolution, 204, 205
rise in standards of living in, 210–11
savings in, 215
superiority complex and, 203, 207, 209, 211–12, 219–20, 225
Triple Package and, 199–225
American Conservative, 193
American Dream, 5–6, 18, 168, 173, 208
see also upward mobility
American Express, 5, 32, 135
American Motors, 32
Amish, 119, 180–84, 187
ball games and, 183
education and, 119, 181
impulse control and, 119, 180–81
insecurity and, 182–83
superiority complex and, 181–82
Ansari, Aziz, 164
anti-Semitism, 12, 15, 54–55, 61, 138, 141–42, 154, 194n
Appalachia, 174–80, 210
impulse control and, 177–80
poverty in, 169, 174, 175, 178
substance abuse in, 175, 178, 180
Arabs, 156
Aronson, Joshua, 78
Ashton, Alan, 32
Asian Americans, 2, 13, 45, 52, 151, 194, 196
depression among, 104, 150
education and accomplishment among, 24, 45–48, 78, 79, 110–11, 131, 151, 170, 172, 173, 194–95, 213n
entry visas of, 170
family and parenting among, 13, 110–11, 147–51
impulse control and, 133, 173
insecurity and, 13, 110–11, 173
musical training and, 46–47, 126–28, 129, 164
opposition to stereotypes among, 164
self-esteem of, 111–12, 151, 213n
stereotype boost and, 79
stereotype threat and, 78
suicide among, 150
superiority complex and, 13, 173
tutoring and, 173
upward mobility and, 168
see also East Asian Americans; Chinese Americans; Indian Americans
assimilation, 20, 83, 195, 196
AT&T Mobility, 38
At Home in the Heart of Appalachia (O’Brien), 177
Atlas, James, 161
Bacardi family, 37, 71
Bain Capital, 31
Bar Kokhba revolt, 12
battle, life as, 15
Baughman, Gary, 32
Baumeister, Roy, 117
Beck, Glenn, 33, 34
Bell, Daniel, 153
Bellow, Greg, 162
Bellow, Saul, 12, 160–64, 195
Benedict, Jeff, 34
Beneficial Life, 35
Benny, Jack, 52
Benson, Ezra Taft, 67–68, 157
Bezos, Jeff, 224
Bharara, Preet, 49, 131, 165
Billete, Pepe, 68–69, 71–72
Black & Decker, 5, 32
blacks, see African Americans
black schools, 77, 222
Blaine, David, 119–20
Blair, Tony, 219
Bloom, Harold, 137
Bloomberg, Michael, 52
Boggs, Lilburn, 64
Bonfire of the Vanities (Wolfe), 210
Book of Mormon, 25, 30
Book of Mormon Girl, The (Brooks), 157
Borushek, Grisha, 161
Bose, Amar Gopal, 49
Bose Corporation, 49
Bowman, Matthew, 65
Brandeis, Louis, 62
Branden, Nathaniel, 212, 214
Breaking Bad, 143
Brigham Young University, 25, 32–33, 35, 157
Britain, 168, 219
Bronx High School of Science, 170, 172, 173
Brooks, David, 54
Brooks, Joanna, 157
Buber, Martin, 63
Buffalo Creek flood, 179
Buffon, George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de, 200–201
Bush, George H. W., 46
Bush, George W., 31
Bushman, Claudia, 66, 67
Calvinism, 137, 184–85
Carmichael, Stokely, 43
Carnegie, Andrew, 202
Carroll, James, 186
Carter, Jimmy, 31
Castro, Fidel, 36, 37, 69, 88
Catherine of Valois, 122
Catholics, 35–36, 53, 184, 185
Catmull, Edwin, 32
Chabon, Michael, 63
Chaplin, Charlie, 52
Checketts, Dave, 32, 137
Chen, Steve, 48
Chernin, Peter, 54
Chester, Eric, 216
chi ku, 125
childhood, 11, 146–47
Confucian approach to, 147–48
China,
120–22, 215, 223
Confucian tradition of, see Confucian principles
decline of, 123
impulse control and, 220
Japan and, 121, 122, 123, 158
Ming Dynasty, 121–22
rising power of, 124, 220
Chinese Americans, 7, 8, 45–51, 56, 57–58
academic achievement and, 13, 123–24, 126–31, 142, 171–73
bimodal communities of, 171
and breaking out of Triple Package, 197
chi ku and, 125
discrimination against, 104, 124
family honor and, 110
immigrant selection criteria and, 170–71
impulse control and, 120, 125–31, 132, 142
insecurity and, 50, 123–24
IQ and, 171
parenting among, 126–29, 132, 142, 147, 148, 150
psychological symptoms among, 150
in Sunset Park, 170, 171, 172
superiority complex and, 124
tutoring and, 172–73
upward mobility of, 171
see also Taiwanese Americans
Chinese Exclusion Act, 207
Chinese superiority complex, 72, 120–23, 130–31, 156, 220
chip on the shoulder, 11–12, 18, 21, 26, 114, 159, 183
America and, 200, 201
Jobs and, 22
Mormons and, 137
Chisholm, Shirley, 43
Cho, John, 164
Chomsky, Noam, 156
Christensen, Clayton, 32
Christianity, 60, 98, 182, 184, 207
Amish and, 180, 181, 183–84
Catholicism, 35–36, 53, 184, 185
Lebanese and, 112–13
Mormonism and, 64–65, 136
Protestantism, 8, 31, 53, 136, 184–86, 207
Churchill, Winston, 23
Church of England, 35
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), 5, 30–31, 34–36, 134, 136–37, 156–58
see also Mormons
Chyao, Amy, 46
Cicero, 112
Cincinnati, Ohio, 176
Citigroup, 5, 32
Clark, Kim, 32
class rigidity, 169
coal mining, 178
Coca-Cola, 36
Cohen, Steve, 52
Colorado City, Ariz., 188
Columbus, Christopher, 122
Combs, Sean “Diddy,” 73–74, 75
Confucian principles, 103, 110, 142, 151, 161, 220
childhood and, 147–48
learning and, 125–26, 147
Congressional Budget Office, 211
Congreve, William, 87
Constitution, 2, 62, 204–6, 209
Cooper, Helene, 80, 82–83
Covey, Stephen, 32
Crash, 92
creative destruction, 208
creativity, 146, 223
Crittenden, Gary, 32, 135
Cromwell, Oliver, 60
Cruz, Ted, 39
crystal meth, 175
Cuba, 69–71
Cuban Americans, 36n, 37, 39–40, 109
Golden Exiles, 36n, 87
Hispanic label and, 68–69, 156
Marielitos, 36n, 40
New Cubans, 36n, 40
superiority complex and, 68–72, 156
Cuban Exiles, 6, 12, 36–41, 58, 71–72, 87–89, 105
insecurity and, 87–89
status loss among, 88–89, 92
cultural groups, 30
culture, definitions of, 30n
Daily Beast, 167
Davis, John, 153–54
Davis-Blake, Alison, 32
Death of a Salesman (Miller), 108
Declaration of Independence, 204–6
De La Torre, Miguel, 71
De la Vega, Ralph, 38
Dell, 5, 32
Deloitte, 5, 32
Delury, John, 220
democracy, 62, 182, 206, 211, 217
Democracy in America (Tocqueville), 202
Denmark, 168
depression, 212, 213n
in Asian Americans, 104, 150
Diamond, Jared, 17n, 186
Diaz, Cameron, 39
Diller, Barry, 52
discipline, 11, 163
see also impulse control
Disraeli, Benjamin, 15
drive, 15, 17, 84, 89, 114–15, 151, 163, 194, 200, 209
pathology of, 165–66
drugs, see substance abuse
D’Souza, Dinesh, 44
Duckworth, Angela, 117
Dweck, Carol, 117, 212
East Asian Americans, 50
academic achievement and, 7, 13, 196
bullying of, 103–4
family and parenting among, 147–48, 151, 152
out-marrying and, 158
Eckstein, Susan, 36n, 39
education and academic achievement, 24–26
Amish and, 119, 181
Asian Americans and, 24, 45–48, 78, 79, 110–11, 131, 151, 170, 172, 173, 194–95, 213n
black schools and, 77, 222
Chinese Americans and, 13, 123–24, 126–31, 142, 171–73
conventional success and, 159
East Asian Americans and, 7, 13, 196
expectations and, 13–14
insecurity and, 105–6
Iranian Americans and, 56, 95
Jews and, 13, 20, 24–26, 193–96
Korean Americans and, 13, 110, 131
self-esteem and, 111–12, 213n
tutoring and, 172–73
Einstein, Albert, 55
Eire, Carlos, 70–71
Eisen, Arnold, 62
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 204
Emler, Nicholas, 213n
Emory University, 36
End of History, The (Fukuyama), 211
enkrateia, 138
entrepreneurialism, 223–24
Epstein, Helen, 190, 192
Epstein, Lawrence J., 107
Erikson, Kai, 177
Estefan, Gloria, 39
Ethiopia, 6
ethnic armor, 22–23, 82–83
ethnocentrism, 15, 59
Exxon Valdez, 179
failure, 117, 159, 214
Fairbanks, John K., 121
family, parents, 86, 106–14, 131–33, 115, 143, 146–50
Asian Americans and, 13, 110–11, 147–51
basing life decisions on expectations of, 160
Chinese Americans and, 126–29, 132, 142, 147, 148, 150
East Asian Americans and, 147–48, 151, 152
Indian Americans and, 101–2
Jews and, 106–8, 109, 140–41, 142, 151–53
Korean Americans and, 131, 132
Lebanese Americans and, 113–14
parental sacrifice, 109–10
rebellion against, 161–63
self-esteem parenting, 214, 216
Fanjul, Alfonso, 37
Fanjul Corporation, 37
Farrakhan, Louis, 78
fear, 86, 104
in Jews, 104–6, 153–55, 195
Federalist Papers, 201, 206
Feiffer, Jules, 151–52
Fiddler on the Roof, 152
Fiedler, Leslie, 162
financial collapse of 2008, 215, 217–18, 220
Fischer, Claude, 204
Fisher-Price, 5, 32
Flynn, James, 171
Footnote, 152
Forbes, 8
Forbes 400, 3
2, 52
Ford, Henry, 208
Fortune, 114
Fortune 500 companies, 33, 50
Forward, 140–41
Frankfort, Lew, 51
Frankl, Victor, 224
Franklin, Benjamin, 203
Freud, Sigmund, 10, 62, 152, 153
Friedman, Thomas, 54
Friend, Tad, 87–88
Fryer, Roland, 222
Fukuyama, Francis, 211
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), 188
Galleon Group, 165
gambling, 215
Gandhi, Indira, 96
Gandhi, Mohandas, 96
García, Andy, 39
Gardner, Howard, 23
Garvey, Marcus, 43
Gates, Bill, 222, 223
Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., 41–42
Gawande, Atul, 49–50
Gehry, Frank, 53
Ghana, 6
Giardina, Denise, 177
Glazer, Nathan, 25
globalization, 211
Goad, Jim, 176
Goizueta, Roberto, 36, 38, 71
Goizueta Business School, 36
Golden Exiles, 36n, 87
Goldman Sachs, 33, 34, 42
Good as Gold (Heller), 152
Graham, Robert, 91–92
Greek Americans, 57
Greeks, ancient, 89, 112, 121
Greenberg, Clement, 12
Grenier, Guillermo, 69
Grey, Brad, 54
Grimm, Thomas, 32
Grinberg, Gedalio, 38
group generalizations, 14
Grove, Andy, 32
Guggenheim, Meyer, 153–54
Guinier, Lani, 41–42
Guitar Hero, 48–49
Gupta, Ashwini, 100
Gupta, Rajat, 100, 165–66
Gupta, Sanjay, 49
Gutierrez, Carlos, 38
Hadrian, 12
Haiti, 6
Haley, Nikki, 49
Hamilton, Alexander, 204
happiness, 11, 27, 146, 147, 206–7, 209, 224
hardship endurance, 16–17, 21, 119–20, 125
self-esteem movement and, 214
Harkins, Anthony, 175
Harold & Kumar, 164
Harvard Business School, 32, 42
Harvard University, 47, 110