Pawan H. Dhingra

Indian Americans own about half of all the motels in the United States. Even more remarkable, most of these motel owners come from the same region in India. Despite their dominance in the motel industry, Indian American moteliers are concentrated in lower- and mid-budget markets. Life Behind the Lobby explains Indian Americans' simultaneous accomplishments and marginalization and takes a close look at their own role in sustaining that duality.

How do people handle contrasting self-conceptions? Do they necessarily compartmentalize their personal lives from their professional lives? Do minority and immigrant groups, in particular, act "ethnic" at home, "American" at work, "racial" in pan-ethnic spaces? Managing Multicultural Lives moves past this common assumption and demonstrates how minorities actually bring together contrasting identities. 

It offers an up-close look at the education arms race of after-school learning, academic competitions, and the perceived failure of even our best schools to educate children. "Through his fascinating exploration of spelling bees, math competitions, and enrichment centers, Pawan Dhingra gets to the root of education obsessions to expose our global anxieties, national biases, and parental hopes for our sons and daughters." ~Min Jin Lee, author of Free Food for Millionaires and National Book Award Finalist, Pachinko