Conceived in 1993, during the writing of her doctoral dissertation on identity formation among first and second-generation ethnic Chinese in Bangkok, Bao, who speaks Thai, Lao, and Mandarin Chinese, in Creating a Buddhist Community focuses on Wat Thai, a Buddhist temple in Silicon Valley. She aims to dispel commonly held stereotypes about Buddhism, monks, and immigrants. Bao interviewed 112 Thai and non-Thai participants, accessed the temple’s records--newsletters, brochures, and photograph albums--and did field work in Silicon Valley and Bangkok. She strives to present the multiple facets of this dynamic community and convey the members’ web-like interconnections by providing detailed, in-depth descriptions of their everyday practices. Seven chapters are: introduction: a community in the making; creating a temple community; erecting a chapel: carving out cultural space; monks in the making; merit making: transnational circuits; shaping and performing Thai American identities; conclusion: interaction, interdependence, and transformations. Annotation ©2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)