Immigration Books

Have you ever encountered a book for young readers so good that it gave you goose bumps? This is such a book.

Told through the viewpoint of a twelve-year-old Jewish immigrant from Russia living on the Lower East Side of New York City, we see the very real struggle of people who came to America to find a new life, but struggle over giving up the old. Despite the fact that this is a fictionalized diary, the author provides us with an intimate look into the sometimes painful personal experiences that make up our history as a whole.

No matter what your own family's history might be, we can learn from the experience of Lasky's incredible characters.

Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America) is a book to be savored and cherished.

I thought the book was awsome. I couldn't put it down there was no part that was boring. I recccomend this book to every one. i read it so fast and i want to read it again

Life's Roads as a Jewish Girl

Zipporah Feldman (Zippy) comes to America with her Jewish family. They came from Zarichka. This book was the diary of Zipporah. After coming to America they all have found some sort of dream in this new country. What was it about America that makes you like this, having big hopes and dreams. Her beloved sister has gone away with the guy she loves, who is not a Jewish boy. Mama gets mad ands pretends top mourn over her daughter like she is dead. The family has fallen apart. Zippy is sad. Something happened to one of her friends. She wants to fly an airplane like the first two brothers did. Or be an actress. She had dreams to look up to.

I really liked this book. Because it was a diary. It was interesting and I liked it a lot. Because she wrote in it almost all the time, it was like a story of her life. Another good diary book that I enjoyed was The Diary of Patrick Seamus Flaherty. I like diary books because they are like a life story and very interesting. These books are different diary's and people. But both are excellent books to read!

Have you ever wondered how long and painful a trip across the Atlantic, would be? Leaving your home, your customs, your whole life, all left in the waves. In the book, Dreams in a Golden Country by Kathryn Lasky, a girl named Zipporah Feldman, mostly known as Zippy struggles to adjust to the American way of life. Zippy would not even have had to come to America, but in her small town in Russia Jews were being persecuted. Zippy has a father who decided to come to America first, who is becoming more American everyday. Zippy has a mother who refuses to leave her old ways, and two sisters, one named Tovah who is obsessed with politics, and the other, Miriam who falls in love with a Catholic firefighter. Zippy has to start in 1st grade, since she had never gone to an American school before, but she eventually gets to the grade she should be in. Zippy is the only family member who was allowed to go to school. I like this book because you get to see the easy and difficult times in an immigrant girl's life during the 1800's. I recommend this book to someone who like stories in diary entry form.

Zippoah is a jewish girl coming to America to meet her Father in New York City. They come to New York City from A small village in Russia. They come for a new life away from all the attacks that are going on in Russia. Zipporah starts a diary of what is going on in the new country she is in. SHe Starts school, Makes firends, and new ideas come to her family that they would have never dreamed of thinking about in Russia. Some thoughts are good & some are bad & some frighten her mother. Her mother is a person who likes to stick to old customs but she starts to add some new ones once she is more comfortable with the New country she is in.
Her father is a very nice man who played the violin very well and was a photographer. Zipporah has two sisters Meriam & Tovah. Tovah is a more seriouse and political person she is also the oldest of the three. Mariam is a very romantic girl, she is the middle child. Mariam ends up falling in love with a cathlic boy and her mother is furious when she finds out that they got secretly married.In Zipporah, or Zippy as her firends call her, has to learn how to read & write in english. At School Zipporah recites poems and learns many new things at school. Zippora's life gets better at some points and bad at some points. But let me ask you how would you feel in her shoes?

After reading this I somehow felt changed. Written so well that you feel her emotions immensely throughout the book. I didn't want to put it down.

When Boken Glass Floats tells the story of a young girl and her experiences and life as she lives in Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge. It is very emotional as she weaves the story of her family in the labor camps and then the periods spent in the refugee camps in Cambodia and Thailand. I recommend it as a five star book.

A great book. A very sad account of a young girl that reflect the experiences of million Cambodian refugees. Also showed what perseverance and setting goals can achieve. If Miss Him can survive and succeed, so should everyone.
Highly recommend this book.

This was an entirely good read. One of the amazing things I kept realizing as I read is Chanrithy Him has condensed a number of harrowing years of into just ~300 pages, so the reader only hears about some of her experiences - there's probably much more that didn't make it to the pages of this memoir. Also, Him's story is only one out of myriad others . . . thousands of thousands of Cambodian people who could tell a story even more devastating than Him's.

When Broken Glass Floats kept me interested from cover to cover, and I enjoyed Him's writing style. It's likely I can't say anything positive that hasn't already been said, so I'll pick out a couple of things I wonder if other readers noticed.

For one, the black and white family photos included in the book did not resemble the images I had of disease-stricken, starving children Him described. For instance - granted he is wearing a shirt in the photos, none of the pictures show Map (Him's youngest sibling) with a protruding belly - although towards the end of the book Him tells her readers Map fails to lose this effect of starvation even after his diet improves. Similarly, the photo of Ra on her wedding day shows a young woman who looks healthy (nice complexion, full cheeks, hair in an up-do, clean floral shirt), so I couldn't help but feel confused because this is far from how Him described her physically weak, skinny sister who was barely recognize at times. I realize the photo was taken during better times, but do people so sick and hungry recover to that degree so quickly? Also, the memoir chronicles countless dizzying days, months, and years of walking, working, and barely surviving from severe dehydration, starvation, infection, diarrhea, disease, and depression; personal belongings (books, valuables, etc.) were stolen, taken by the Khmer Rouge, and lost along the way. Under those conditions, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt as I read about the photos Him had "managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p. 330) and the "cream lace blouse from Phnom Penh, which she (Ra) managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p.286). Given the circumstances described, this just didn't seem plausible. But who knows . . . not a major problem for me, it just caught my attention - as did the typographical errors I found from time to time.

Great book . . . would have enjoyed a bit more of a history lesson. If that's what you're seeking you might look elsewhere, because this is a tale focused on a very strong and intelligent young girl's survival.

When Broken Glass Floats is the author's journey to find the magic of a world lost as a result of the Khmer Rouge. This book, as a personal account of the Khmer Rouge regime, is also my personal journey as a reader and a Khmer person. Through this magical journey, my own forgotten memories are awakened and many traditional beliefs that I have pushed to the back of my mind resurface.

I was too young to have memories of the Killing Fields, but I have heard enough stories to feel connected to it. There were gaps missing in my memory and this book filled those gaps. When Broken Glass Floats is poetic and touching, a book rooted in the author's desire to let the world know about the tragic death of her family. It begins when her memories are awakened as a result of her work as an interpreter and interviewer for the Khmer Adolescent Project, studying post-traumatic stress disorder among Cambodian survivors. This is a story of triumph, survival, and hope written from the Khmer soul of a Cambodian-American woman.

When Broken Glass Floats is a book with two moving and powerful purposes: one, as a therapeutic tool for the author, and, two, as a reminder of an event that should never have occurred. The author describes her book as a way "to use the power of words to caution the world, and in the process to heal myself" (p. 23). The process of writing the book became a trek to the Himalayas, "a search to recapture the long-lost magic in [her] life" (p. 23). My travels have taken me to the Himalayas. I have been seeking magic for my own healing like the author of When Broken Glass Floats. The process of reading her book and other autobiographies has provided much healing. I recommend this book for everyone who is interested in this subject, but in particular to Cambodian-Americans, because this book can take you on a journey into yourself, your soul, memories, and past.

This book was extremely disappointing unless you would like to know how many gallons of water it takes to illegally cross from Mexico into the United States. The author takes a liberal and sympathic view of illegals and tries to sway the reader into thinking that breaking the law is OK for these people. Give me a break. Where is the equal-sided journalism? What about the economic drain to healthcare, gang violence and drugs that these people bring into the United States? If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck then it is a duck. Illegals are illegals are illegals. Don't waste your time on this book.

"A passionate exponent of more human solutions to the problems of illegal border crossings...John Annerino, an Arizona writer-photojournalist, tells the story up close and personal in a gut wrenching, bare knuckle account...His account puts flesh and bones on the story behind the dreams, and skeletons,too," Desert Candle.

There are those who call themselves experts on the subject and those who are. John is the genuine expert. His points on the subject can only be done by being there and doing it. That is John, that is how he is. That is how he lives. A Master photographer, a Father, Journalist. His treatment on the border issue is a no-holds-barred trip into the unknown. He makes it known, he does it masterfully! When I read Dead in Their Tracks I found it to be the best publication on the subject. It should be required reading for those who are studying Hispanic Culture here at the University of Arizona! When one has the folks at ABC News and other News organizations beating on your door for your knowledge on the subject you know it is John Annerino. When you read a John Annerino book or see his imigaes you are guaranteed that you have exposed to the very best in subject treatment. Dead in Their Tracks will take you for a ride you won't soon forget.

-"Photojournalist John Annerino plunges into a world few Americans ever consider, much less confront: a pitiless trek through the southwestern Arizona Desert that can deliver a man to steady work - or to a whimpering death," Laura Brooks, The Arizona Daily Star.

-"Anyone interested in this slaughter should run, not walk, to John Annerino's Dead in Their Tracks," Charles Bowden, author of Down by the River.

-"A passionate chronicle. The story...is gripping and profoundly disturbing," Susan J. Tweit, The Bloomsbury Review.

-"A stunning portrayal of the dangers (including death) faced by immigrants eager to work in the United States," Library Journal.

-"I'm trying to illuminate the lives of those who continue to die in America's killing ground," Annerino said," abcnews.com.

-"A gripping firsthand account of crossing the Camino del Diablo in the company of Mexican nationals...Annerino's evocative words and haunting pictures make the issue impossible to ignore," Donnamarie Barnes, People Magazine.

-"The story is riveting.Annerino's writing is emotional and graphic," Ernesto Portillo, San Diego Union-Tribune.

-"Through cholla cactus and scorpions, along sands simmering at 140-160 degrees, John Annerino and four Mexican companions stumble toward an oasis north of poverty: the American dream," oneworldjournies.com.

-"The book is a testament and a memorial.Thirty pages list the known dead...Annerino deserves praise for putting this story into words and pictures," Will Chaffey, San Antonio Express-News.

-"A gripping work of investigative reporting," Nicole Davis, National Geographic Adventure.

-"Seen on CNN and featured on CNN Bokchat, John Annerino has worked on the border for Newsweek, ABC Primetime, National Geographic Adventure, and America 24/7," KmG

This book is poorly written, _utterly_ disjointed, and has a cloying sentimentality that is really annoying. By that I mean it's not at all analytical: it includes random snippets of poems, etc. that serve only to confound the reader looking for some meat. Plus, there are certain phrases like "cutting sign" that I hadn't the foggiest idea about until I looked it up. Help the reader out here.

Yeah, it's hot as hell in the desert, and it's doggone handy to have water. It sucks that people are dying in the desert and the forces that draw them to _El Norte_ are highly complex and not necessarily their fault. Still, they are breaking the law from the word go, and well they know it, and it seems to me there are worse tragedies involving truly innocent people. Plus, it peeves me to no end that these illegals have largely trashed some of the most beautiful and exotic wildernesses in the U.S. So my sympathy is just not all that deep.

The photos are for the most part of lousy quality as well. Why it took carrying several cameras, as the author claims, to produce these pictures is beyond me.

Lastly the book is VERY short, with a ridiculously long appendix addressing every single death that has occurred in this area ... newsflash: no one is going to read that.

How could the editors have allowed a book like this to go to press? It's absolutely amateurish, despite being driven by sincere emotions.

I found out about this marvelous book through Neil Gaiman's Journal. The Arrival was my first graphic novel and I was awed by the intensity and yet nuanced storytelling accomplished with absolutely no text!
Even though the country the immigrant comes to is very foreign in some major ways and the feeling of dislocation and fear are strong for the man who is the main character, still there are little touches of familiarity in this strange place, and the people open up to him.
The drawing is quietly compeling, and I found myself pouring over the pages, finding new delights on every street corner and windowsill.
I would recommend this book to all ages; after I read it, I shared it with my granddaughters, and they loved it, too!

Saying that it is an amazing book would be selling it short! Like all fine works of art it is to be cherished. Go grab a copy and 'see' it if you haven't or even if you have!

This book tells the story of a man who leaves his home and family and comes to start a new life for them all in an alien culture. Because The Arrival is a graphic novel that takes as it's setting an imaginary land with a unique language, the reader is able to enter the world as the protagonist does, completely at the mercy of the world he's trying to call home. The fine and suggestive illustrations allow the reader to experience the confusion, isolation, terror and wonder of this journey. This book helped me to appreciate the struggles my own ancestors, and everyone else in America's ancestors, must have faced in their passage of immigration. I also found a new compassion for those future citizens hoping to live within our borders, whose difficulties and challenges they must face daily. In California you meet so many different nationalities, so many people trying to make a new life for themselves and their families, and they're doing it for the most part with dignity and purpose, starting with the simple desire to begin again in a land of opportunity. The Arrival depicts this ambition with genuine sincerity and truth. I highly recommend it.

Shaun Tan, The Arrival (Arthur A. Levine, 2007)

There's a single panel, towards the end of Chapter 2 of Shaun Tan's remarkable graphic novel The Arrival, that sums up a great deal of what you need to know about the book. Previously, a man has left his wife and daughter behind to emigrate to a new land, where everything is unfamiliar to him. When, despite the cultural and language barriers he faces, he manages to find lodging, he pulls out his suitcase and opens it. Instead of the things he packed, what we see is his wife and daughter, sitting and eating a meal alone in the house he used to share with them. Everything about the scene is rendered in exquisite detail, and it's a perfect synecdoche for Tan's approach to his material here; the fabulist attitude laced with a hefty dollop of surrealism, the feel of how it is to be a stranger in a strange land, and Tan's sure hand with his illustrations, right down to the way he gives us the kind of cracking you see on old photographs.

As our nameless protagonist journeys through the city, he meets other immigrants, and he assimilates culturally by listening to their own stories of what it was like to emigrate from their homelands to this wonderful city where all of them have ended up. Tan tells a universal-- clichéd, perhaps-- story in such a unique way that I would think it impossible not to be charmed. This is fine, fine work indeed, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. You need to read this book. *****

This book tells the story of an immigrant, who leaves his homeland for reasons that are unclear but definitely seem to be unpleasant. He is overwhelmed by his new home, and absolutely nothing seems familiar, to the point of no longer being recognizable. The food is different, the language is different, the currency is different, the animals are different, and he cannot read the writing. His inability to read the writing is demonstrated quite graphically, literally, by having all the writing use an alphabet other than any I have seen from any country on Earth. He must find a place to live, a job so that he can support himself, and figure out how to survive. The foreignness and the overwhelming strangeness of the land is demonstrated by having many ordinary objects be much larger than normal, as well as having a definite surreal atmosphere pervade the entire book. Will the immigrant find a way to live? Can he find happiness? Can he be reunited with his family, by helping them be able to join him?

This might be the most unusual book I have "read," and it is hard to review it. Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret was about seventy percent illustrations, blended seamlessly with text, yielding a riveting tale. The Arrival is one hundred percent illustrations, that appear to be pencil drawings. The illustrations are excellent in quality, making this at least as much an art collection as a novel. The content varies from photograph-like to surrealism, slightly reminiscent of a blend of Van Gogh and Rivera. The paper is very high in quality and the cover looks almost like an ancient leather-bound manuscript. The entire book has an antique look and feel to it, with the paper looking aged and slightly water stained around the edges, and a sepia tone to the images.

My initial impression of the book was that the author had gone a bit too far in making his point. By taking the unfamiliar and portraying it as surreal and unearthly, I thought this was an example of overstatement causing the author to lose track of his own point. But, this is a book that, once read, keeps echoing and reverberating. I now think I was taking it too literally, at first, as the more lasting impression is one of the book having been truly haunting and, despite the downright alien (as in extraterrestrial) look of many of the image, Shaun Tan has genuinely captured the feel of chronic and pervasive displacement experienced by many immigrants. Again, like some artwork, the impact of this book is not immediate, but in its lasting effect.

Personal note: One the cover of the book is an image of the protagonist, and an animal that is not of this reality. That animal, the protagonist's pet and companion in the strange land, became symbolic of what I think of the book: at first, I saw it as a prime example of the author going too far; now, I want a critter like that! In a way, you can judge this book by its cover.

-- Chris McCallister, author of Coming Full Circle

I was unfamiliar with the Kindertransport that moved 10,000 Jewish children to safety from the Holocaust. This biography brings that event to life through the memories of Lisa Jura. At 14, her parents sent her to London and the book covers that wrenching journey and the next six years of her life. Growing up during the blitz in a refugee home with 31 children makes a fascinating book.
Lisa's devotion to music weaves the story together as she strives towards her parents' dream. Becoming a concert pianist seems unachievable under the circumstances, but this touching biography details Lisa's progress towards that goal. This account has appeal for both adult and teen readers.
I also recommend In The Shadow Of The Cathedral: Growing Up In Holland During WW II by Titia Bozuwa

author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family

from the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
August 30, 2002

Vienna, 1938. In the city of Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Strauss, 14-year-old musical prodigy Lisa Jura looks forward to a promising career as a concert pianist. Hitler has other plans. With the breaking of glass on Kristallnacht, Jura's dreams are shattered.

Internationally celebrated concert pianist Mona Golabek, with journalist and poet Lee Cohen, has crafted a loving, lyrical tribute to her mother, Lisa Jura, in "The Children of Willesden Lane: Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival."

Jura was one of 10,000 Jewish children saved from the Nazis by the British and sent on the Kindertransport to safety from Eastern Europe. Already being compared to "The Diary of Anne Frank," this simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting tale weaves together the stories that Golabek's mother told her about prewar Austria; the gut-wrenching separation from her family; life at the orphanage on Willesden Lane; and the power of music to help her survive.

As Jura's mother, Malka, puts her on the train, she says the prophetic words that will sustain and inspire her daughter and future generations: "Hold on to your music. Let it be your best friend."

In a world turned ugly, the beauty of music becomes Jura's strength, and, against tremendous odds, with the help and encouragement of the 30 other displaced children at the orphanage, she wins a scholarship to London's Royal Academy.

"Each kid saw something in my mother's music that reminded them of what they had left behind in Czechoslovakia, in Austria, in Germany," says Golabek, a Grammy-nominated artist, "and that's what I tried to do in the story, not only to pay homage to my mother, but to all these kids and to their bravery."

The book opens with Jura's tantalizing daydream of performing in a great concert hall and closes with the fulfillment of that dream, as she makes her debut before an exhilarated crowd. And in between, the pages burst with melody: Jura pounding the cadenza of the Grieg "Piano Concerto" to drown out the sounds of bombs during London's blitz, Jura visualizing Chopin fleeing a flaming Warsaw as she struggles with the somber coda of the "Ballade," Jura remembering her mother's Sabbath candles as she plays the solemn opening of Beethoven's "Pathetique."

"My mom and her mother never cared if a piece is in C major. What really counts is the passion behind it, the image. If it's `Clair de Lune,' imagine the moon over a desert island. That imagination allowed her to survive the horrors of what she experienced, because a C-major chord will not inspire you through the horrors. It's the moonlight, the idea that maybe the composer wrote it for someone he loved. These things inflamed her imagination, and that's how she inflamed mine."

And now Golabek's book will inflame the imagination of a whole new generation. The Milken Family Foundation, together with Facing History and Ourselves, an educational organization that teaches tolerance to 1 million students annually, are working with Golabek to bring the story to schools across the country by developing a companion curriculum guide.

Plans are under way to launch the book in Austria, and make it available to teachers as part of the now mandatory four-year Holocaust education program for students.

The saga of Golabek's 18-year struggle to get the story published is almost as harrowing as her mother's story itself. "It went through many, many writings; many, many ups and downs, starts and disappointments," Golabek says.

Now the accolades and offers are pouring in. On Sept. 24, she will be an honored guest speaker at the California Governor's Conference for Women at the Long Beach Convention Center and will appear at Beth Am on Nov. 17 with her sister, pianist Renee Golabek-Kaye, and Jura's four grandchildren, all musicians: Michele, 16; Sarah, 14; Jonathan, 8; and Rachel, 7. Brandeis University will honor her at the Skirball Cultural Center next March 31.

Last week Golabek was interviewed on NPR's Morning Edition and was the subject of a feature story by Andy Meisler of the New York Times. In the planning stages is a concert next year co-sponsored by the U.S. Holocaust Museum and the Austrian government. And, of course, Golabek is considering movie offers.

On her syndicated radio show, "The Romantic Hours," which highlights stirring writings against a musical backdrop (Saturdays at 10 p.m., 105.1 FM), Golabek often quotes the poet Jean Paul Richter: "Life fades and withers behind us, but of our immortal and sacred soul all that remains is music."

"That was a quote my mother taught me, and the whole reason why I wrote this book and why I created `The Romantic Hours' was that my mother felt through words and through music our souls would be immortalized."

This is one of my all-time favorite books. If you are a musician, you will fall in love with it. The story is inspiring and moving and will make you appreciate music to the greatest extent possible.

Full of history. Easy to follow. Great read for young and old alike.

This is a story which every parent should read to their children. Talk about the history of WW2 and discuss the extremes of humanity. A book which once read you will never forget.

I am reading this book with my class at school. I love it! I look forward to it everyday. This is a story that every American needs to hear because it is living proof of how much we have been given. When you realize that many people in the world have had to deal with the things that Farah did, the everyday dramas in your life are put into a totally new perspective. This book is real. It happened to real people, it teaches real lessons, and that is why it leaves any hollow fiction or fantasy behind.

When seven-year-old Farah Ahmedi stepped on a landmine in her native Afghanistan, she thought her life was over. The hospital in her war-torn city only tried to keep her alive until German doctors made their regular monthly visit, airlifting the most crucial cases to heal in their own country.

Away from her family and culture, Farah fell apart.

Then, as she began to heal, she made friends with a German woman, who informally adopted Farah like one of her own. Gradually, Farah began to learn the language and enjoy the peaceful, beautiful country -- making it just as shocking when she was returned to her family two years later.

Suddenly, nothing Farah's family or country can offer her seems good enough. The little girl had become used to a better life, and she was determined to live it again.

That wish kept her determination driven over the next few years, when war ravaged her family and her home. Left with nothing but a crippled daughter, Farah's mother hovered on the brink of madness and wanted to give up. But Farah, who had had a peek of what life could be, believed the two were destined to live in America through a special program for Afghan widows and orphans.

After numerous obstacles - including 9/11 - the two finally get their wish. But their struggle is far from over, as they find themselves in the midst of a culture clash with the general American public. Farah's mother is still battling mental demons, and Farah herself not only has to learn to speak and read English, but read altogether, as her Afghan education had fallen apart during wartime.

Above all, Farah learns, there is always a higher power out there, willing to help you during your most desperate times, sending relief in the form of a person destined to cross your life's path.

This simply told story is a powerful testament to the atrocities that can be endured without breaking. Farah Ahmedi is one extraordinary teenager, destined to do great things.

I got Farad's audio book because we have been working in relief and development in Afganistan since 1984. It is a well narrated book, an uplifting account the suffering of a child and of people who come into our lives and believe in us, love us and walk with us through the difficulties of life in Afghanistan, Pakistan and in America.

Farad, a young, Hazara girl, has lived an unbelievable life before reaching the age of 15. Her story is a first hand picture of the devastation of a beautiful country destroyed by war and ethnic conflict. She and her family were caught in the middle. She stepped on a landmine as she was going to school in Kabul. She was in the second grade and things went downhill from there.

This is a story of suffering and pain but finding strength to respond when it seemed impossible. This is a story of faith and people practically living out their faith. It is the story of a young girl who has a dream.

This book is great reading for teeens through adults. It is an easy read - can be read in 1-2 days. The story is gripping and suspenseful and really gives one an understanding of life in turbulent Afghanistan and the difficulty refugees encountered to make their way out. My husband and I read the book and enjoyed it as did my daughters, ages 19 and 17.

I personally know the girl who wrote this book. She is an amazing person and has so many stories to tell. She was given the opportunity to share her story because she has gone experienced so many things. This really is a must read for everyone. For such a young person, she has gone through more than most will go through before they are middle aged and yet, she still thrives and lives for each day doing the best she can at everything she does. Enough said...buy this book!

Dan Sheehy has crafted an eminently readable, thoroughly researched, and informative book that describes the serious harm massive illegal immigration is causing in America, the government's unwillingness to control it, and most significantly, the hidden agenda behind our open borders. But Mr. Sheehy also warmly portrays some of the many brave and patriotic Americans who have committed themselves, at their own expense and risk, to do the job the government refuses to do: defending our borders, supporting protective legislation, and alerting others to the dangers of the alien invasion.

If millions of Americans would read this book, they would understand the powerful forces driving this invasion but also understand that the greater power lies in the American people. They will know that we can stop this tragedy if enough of us learn the facts and commit to restoring our nation to the beacon of freedom and liberty it once was.

A government "by the people and for the people" has brought forth patriots to again defeat the Mexicans. It is only a matter of time before a permanent solution is legally enacted: guest workers must be solely for cheap contracted seasonal agricultural labor; all other labor is to be reserved for citizens, and meritorious legal immigrants. By popular demand, these millions of ILLEGAL ALIENS, are to be deported and permanently kept out. Predictably, patriophobes and racist-baiters will attack Sheehy ideologically.

Fighting Immigration Anarchy is a must read for anyone who wants to learn about the impact of the illegal invasion into America and the people who are doing something about it. The book will enlighten you as to who is behind this growing problem and why they are encouraging America's ultimate demise through the enormous onslaught of unwanted masses.

Useful review of various political actions related to illegal immigration. The author uses sketches of some politically active people as an organizing devise to tell of various campaigns, such as Proposition 200 in 2004 in Arizona. The writing is brisk. The opinions are blunt. For the scholarly, there are footnotes galore.

Someone new to the topic will find it a respectable overview of many major aspects of illegal immigration. For the more seasoned reader, there's interesting background of several major players. Joe Guzzardi, Roy Beck, Tom Tancredo -- they're all here. A well written book that pulls no punches. Five stars.

This book is both a warning and a tonic for those who have watched in helpless frustration and rage, wondering how to confront and reverse the process of Mexifornication extending from California and the other border states to the rest of the union. In IMMIGRATION ANARCHY, Dan Sheehy has presented the stories of several ordinary, decent Americans who realized the threat and -- earlier than the great bulk of their countrymen -- decided to get busy. These pioneers in the immigration reform movement had no special assets to bring to the struggle. They were not wealthy or powerful, and absent this threat most would probably have lived their lives in modest anonymity. Basically all they had were their patriotism, energy, and personal commitment. They are an inspiration to the rest of us, many of whom are just now waking up from our long slumber of habit, sloth, creature comfort, and multicultural indoctrination imbibed from the education establishment and mainstream media. Today, they and a few others like them have at last forced the issue to the top of our national consciousness, and they are making a profound impact on the national debate.

Sheehy's book also suggests answers for those of us who have been baffled, then impatient, and finally outraged and alienated by an administration in Washington that calls on Americans to shed their blood defending borders in Afghanistan and Korea, and attempting to establish national sovereignty in Iraq (whatever the justification for those efforts), while brazenly ignoring its Constitutional obligation to protect us from invasion at home. Sheehy, like other commentators such as Phyllis Schlafly and Jerome Corsi, points to the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership (see SPP.gov) as a likely explanation for the Bush administration's foot-dragging on securing our borders.

As envisioned in the SPP, a unified North America -- essentially a practical expression of NAFTA -- would subsume the (currently) sovereign nations of Canada, Mexico, and the US into a single entity with no internal borders and a common perimeter. The union, also frequently described as the "North American Community," would nominally be economic, permitting the free movement of capital, goods, and people among the three countries. Labor would essentially be treated as just-in-time inventory throughout the three erstwhile "nations." But patriotic, commonsensical Americans like Sheehy, who treasure our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, believe economic union would soon morph into political union. If the Bush administration manages to drag its feet long enough on enforcing our immigration laws, the massive invasion of illegals will result in a de facto union. Regional, supranational government has long been the dream of elite leftists and global corporatists, for whom the nation-state is an archaic remnant of the 18th century.

Naturally none of the SPP agenda has been debated in Congress, and the mainstream media have, with one or two exceptions, ignored it. Sheehy's book will help force the nation to address it. Buy it, learn what the corporate media won't report, get inspired by the stories of what your fellow Americans have done, and join the battle. Time is running out.

This is the story of a brilliant young man who seems to be always on the move, moving from one interesting city to the other.

At the beginning, the author leaves New Delhi for US, where he is awarded a fellowship to study at University of California, but he gets caught into culture shock, as well as an internal dilemma, seeking a deeper meaning of life. While he is most vulnerable, he manages to fall in love with one his student but is unable to express his feelings.

Then he seems to have gone through the roller coaster ride of the technology industry emerging as a winner, a successful technologist leading a group of innovators.

We end in beautiful San Diego, with a moving story about how the author and his family face the Inferno, the great wildfires of 2007.

I don't believe anyone has experienced living unless they have ventured around like the author has. It is in his narratives, his reaction to the challenges he faces and his observations of people and culture of various places that he truly shines.

It is my top read of the year!

Whether you ever wondered about meaning of it all, or you want to read something light amusing, or want to see places like Seattle, San Diego, and Nashville from the eyes of the writer, or vicariously live the life of a student at University of California, this book is for you!

This book combines elements from good humor, a memoir, a scenic travelogue, a touching love story, science fiction and philosophy.

The author, pretends to be an Artificial Imagination computer program simulating human creativity, describes the life/career journey of a modern nomad through the Hi Tech world of California and Washington (Settle). The book is clever, witty and obviously written by someone very intelligent but still manages to be very down to earth and funny! it's light reading, the author has a conversational style, you feel as if you are reading a letter from a close friend!!

As a travelogue, Welcome to the USA is pretty good, Kalpanik certainly made me think about wanting to go to San Diego, Seattle and Nashville.

as a character. Kalpanik seems simultaneously incredibly thoughtful and serious and yet someone who has a carefree attitude towards life, someone who handle life as it happens!

It's a light reading, and yet thoughtful; funny yet serious; conversational yet literary!

This book takes many life concepts expressed in different forms and combine them in a mishmash. He structures the 12 different personal essays, each highlighting a particular transitional period in his life or a specific experience in to a beautiful collage of experiences in this book very successfully. What a funny memoir!

Kalpanik S. is a fine writer with a lot to say about a lot of things and a unique way of making you laugh! I highly recommend her book.

ReKalpanik S. takes us through his arrival in USA as a student and subsequent travel to several places - San Francisco, Seattle, Nashville, and San Diego. In each places, he focuses on similar aspect of his life as a technologist and an immigrant - acceptance by local people, standing out as a ethnic minority and foreign born, life as a technology execuitve and family life. In addition, he covers local food, people, culture and sources of enjoyment, joy, and finally, and his quest for love and balance.


He adds so much meaning, passion and humor, he is so open with the readers that I felt like I was reading a private letter that someone would write only to their best friends.

The writing is refreshingly unexpected, humorous and meaningful. Great read!!

America Libre is a real page-turner and I'm looking forward to the next book. Immigration is a timely topic, and Raul Ramos Sanchez illustrates realistically how ordinary people and whole societies can fall into violence.

This is the kind of book that jumps alive in your hands. It whispers to you of love and compassion, and shrieks at you from the depths of hatred and confusion. In dealing with the immigration issue this book is certainly timely, but I believe its greatest value actually lies in the wonderfully uncomfortable way in which it shatters the over simplification which plagues most of the world's problems - that there is simply good and bad, right and wrong, Latino and Gringo. What a great gift this author has given us in these pages, where innocents become enemies, heroes disappoint and hope kindles in dark places. As much homage as this book pays to the Latino cause, it also beckons to the broader human cause: Let us all be aware of the slippery slope that constitutes our perspectives and judgments. Let us all treat with reverence the complexity of our community. And let us all think twice, even thrice, before we decide our choices. Read it, and most importantly, read it well!

I was sucked into the story about 40 pages in and was unable to put it down. I finished America Libre in two nights. (With a new baby in the house, sleep is at a premium; if my husband had not ripped the book out of my hands the other night, I would have read it straight through till morning). I am eagerly waiting for the second installment. As a poli-sci major I'm a pretty hard sell on military and political thrillers; but I would stack this up against a Uris or Clancy novel. Considering current immigration laws springing up across the US (Oklahoma and Vermont) and rising public tempatures regarding illegals - all aimed at Latinos; America Libre feels more like historical fact than a possible future. The book feels current and it's carefully crafted step-by-step "how to start a revolution" makes it more than believable; and more than a little scary.

This was a fast-paced contemporary story - one that made me question my conscious and unconscious assumptions about other cultures and how I relate to them. It was scary to watch the evolution of the believable plot!

The story was both thought-provoking and an action-packed page turner, which is a rare combination indeed. The plot device of having a single event mushroom into something huge reminded me of Tom Clancy novels like Debt of Honor. Once I got to the book, I went from cover to cover during the space of a plane trip over a long weekend. The book starts fast and keeps a quick pace. Let's hope that the story is a worst case scenario that never comes to pass.

I am in the process of adopting a child from China and this book touched my every emotion...happiness, sadness, anger, and frustration. Jeff was able to capture all facets of the human emotion and provided poignant points and truth to an adoption journey. I didn't want to put the book down and found myself thinking about even when I wasn't reading it. Jeff's words permanently pressed against my mind, heart and soul. Jeff wrote with such compelling imagery that I felt like I was on the journey with them. This book is remarkable and I would recommended it to anyone.

From the first chapter I felt as though I was with The Gammage family on their journey. I myslef am an adoptive parent of a darling little girl from Chongqing and have been home 9 months. It brought back vivid memories and feelings I had gone through on our trip. I was smiling and crying all the way through the book. This is a must read for anyone who is thinking about or who has adopted a child. Jeff Gamage captured the feeling and emotions that all of us experience on our journey to parenthood. Bravo!

We were with Jeff and Chris in Langzhou when they adopted their second daughter in 2004. In reading China Ghosts, we were transported back to that moment in time when after years of longing and broken hope, a precious and beautiful girl was placed in our arms; reminded of the feelings, emotions, and passion of why we started down that road less traveled. For those who have adopted, are considering it, or know someone who has, Jeff expresses so many of the emotions that are woven throughout the process, including the aftermath. As the father of a Chinese daughter, China Ghosts is a reminder of my passage to fatherhood as well; It speaks all I think. Thank you Jeff!

I read a review of this book in a magazine and ordered it immediately. Having adopted from China, everything was familiar, but unique in various ways. Anyone who has been through the process or who may be waiting now should definitely read it. I related to many of the events described from the father's perspective, but my wife enjoyed it as much as I did.

I will warn anyone that decides to read the book that some of the experiences that are written about are heartbreaking. You will most certainly want to cry at various points throughout the book. Overall, though, it is a good read. It will bring back lots of memories of your China trip.

This is a beautifully written account of a loving family. Mr. Gammage shares his observations and feeling in a compelling and compassionate manner. I feel I made this journey with him and am greatful for having shared the experience. This book has provided much insight and detail into a jouney my son and his wife recently made to adopt their daughter from China. I'm so glad I found this book!