Immigration Books

This marvelous and insightful immigration history represents cultural history at its finest, with brilliant thoughts on the broader issues of homeland, citizenship and national identity alongside detailed investigations of Polish, Irish, and Eastern European settlers. If only this book was published in paperback, so it would be more accessible in the classroom!

Jacobson's book is at once a painstaking review of original texts and a highly compelling read, no matter how long ago your family arrived. A must read for professional historians and anyone interested in American Studies and Cultural History

Excellent story that is beautifully written and illustrated. It captures an important part of our heritage while emphasizing the importance of family tradition and roots. My 8 year old just loved it and I can see my self reading this to her over and over again. The story teaches U.S. history on one level and family sharing on another. The illustrations are beautiful. I strongly recommend this book.

A very sweet story with a lovely message about traditions and remembering your heritage even as changes through the generations blur the past. Well written in a style that respects both the subject and the readers, and lovely illustrations as well. Hope to see more from this author!

Hello Mrs. Kim Ha

Thank for your book. Around me, personally I know that there are four poeple died on the sea during the trip escape from vietnam. My sister, She came on boat and we never have any information about her again. My highschool teacher. After the summer we could not find him in our school and my friend told he was death on a trip escape to Hong Kong. And a litle girl next to my door she was just 4 year olds her mother could not save her from death because they was out of food when their ship was lost on the sea. Many many young girls was raped by Thailan robbers then killed. Sometime I wanna look up the sky and ask who cause all the pain for many generations. Sometime I just feel really hunger for the revenge. My English is not good but one thing I am sure that It is good enough to show my appriciation to your work.

Toan Nguyen

Dear Mrs. Kim Ha, I hope this letter eventually reaches you. Yesterday afternoon, I finished reading your book, Stormy Escape. A friend of mine at work (Mrs. Nu Que Thai) recommended that I read it. I believe one of her brothers' was your former high school teacher. From the first page, your words tore at my heart. I found myself wanting to jump inside the book to try and help; but the only thing I could do was, keep reading. My heart raced faster, I was overcome with several emotions; but mostly, I felt ashamed as a human being for being ignorant. I know you must be busy, so I will make this short. First, I want to thank you for writing this book. I wish you and your family the best of health and all the happiness that life can give. Secondly, I must return the book to Mrs. Thai, however, your words and story will stay with me til my last sunset. Thank you, and God Bless, Sincerely, Michael L. Milligan

In this book, the prominent trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati examines a wide range of issues on mutlilateral trade and international economics. A strong advocate of free trade and democracy, Bhagwati has presented a conscientious "stream" of strong arguments against protectionism. His previous experience with the then GATT has added further strength and flavour to his arguments. What is more - Bhagwati's writing is clear, succinct and yet highly entertaining - the essays are short proses aiming at the general public. An excellent collection of essays for readers who are interested in international trade policy issues but not professionally trained in economics. Highly recommended.

This man is an intellectual dynamo. Bhagwati says that as an academic his public articles have to be merely the tip of the iceberg (his words) representing the years of careful model-building and thought. If the articles in this compilation are the tip, we should be awed at the prospect of the iceberg. And his style isn't stilted , it is ice-dancing on top of the iceberg.

Can protectionism be justified , either as a first-best or as a second-best policy?

Is there any truth behind the allegation that the Japanese system is rigged to preclude foreign competition?

Is trade responsible for the plight of the unskilled Western proletariat? Or is technological change the major causal factor? Is the average price of labor-intensive goods actually rising or falling in the free-trade world? Bhagwati says" The pressure on the wages at the bottom is overwhelmingly due to domestic technical change; the job insecurity in the middle and at the top is primarily due to the Global Age. "

Does the new "blue" and "green" protectionism pass intellectual scrutiny? Is the "fair trade before free trade" slogan as morally sharp as it appears, or does it fail to consider all moral alternatives?

Does growth lead to deteriorating environment? Or is this sloppy thinking unsupported by empirical data? What does the data say?

Will free trade lead to a "race to the bottom" in environmental standards? Or will the rising consciousness about environmentalism throughout the world , even in poor countries like India(with an environment-friendly Supreme Court, for instance) , prevent such a thing? In other words, is the "race to the bottom" a mere theoretical possibility or a real practical danger? Will countries really lower environmental standards drastically to reduce cost of business? Or will other factors like tax incentives dominate over environmental regulation during investment decisions, thereby leaving the "race to the bottom" a mere theoretical fear ? Similarly will there be a real as opposed to a theoretical race to the bottom regarding labor standards?

Does it make sense to prescribe "one size fits all" enviro standards for different countries in different stages of development, like less developed countries ? Or uniform labor standards? Would many other countries then be right in demanding that the US, where worker and union protections are really weak, should pass different labor laws than it has at the moment? Should countries at a level of development of the US at the beginning of the 20th century be forced to adopt enviro and labor standards that weren't adopted in the West until recently? As Bhagwati says in the book " Mexico has a greater social incentive than does the United States to spend an extra dollar preventing dysentery rather than reducing lead in gasoline ".

Two quotes from the book

"Environmentalists have cause for concern. Not all concerns are legitimate, however, and not all the solutions to legitimate concerns are sensible. "

"It is surely tragic that the proponents of two of the great causes of the 1990s, trade and the environment, should be locked in combat. The conflict is largely gratuitous. There are at times philosophical differences between the two that cannot be reconciled, as when some environmentalists assert nature's autonomy, whereas most economists see nature as a handmaiden to humankind. For the most part, however, the differences derive from misconceptions. It is necessary to dissect and dismiss the more egregious of these fallacies before addressing the genuine problems."

Bhagwati also punctures "zero-sum" win-lose scary movies of globalization , not just by pointing to the win-win nature of trade based on comparative advantage analysis, but also by pointing to fallacies underlying arguments that call for promoting so called "high value-added" industries.

Discussions of globalization often founder on ideological rocks, and cool dispassionate analysis is short in coming. If one is to carry away one message from this book, it is that trade does not have to be viewed through "left-wing" or "right-wing" glasses. Cool-headed analysis is called for on an instrument that has the potential for doing do much good to so many. Another lesson to carry away from this book, I think, is that "free trade" is not some knee-jerk accompaniment to "free markets" , so that everytime you say one , you also say the other - the case for free trade is based on careful analysis based on comparative advantage. Redistributive effects of trade , like hurting unskilled workers in one country at the expense of skilled workers in the same country, are a theoretical possibility. Only empirircal data can show if this effect is large , or small and swamped by other effects like technology.

In a world where we are innundated with books by some "expert" or the other mouthing his or her own analysis of the globalized world, as a layman I would much rather trust this TIP OF THE ICEBERG backed by solid academic thinking.

Streets of gold was a great book of a young girl's story of how her and her family came to America and of their hardships.If you are interested in ellis island and stories of immagrants coming to America this book is for you!

I visited Ellis Island, which is where I picked up this treasure. As you read, you feel a part of this young girl's life, including the struggles while immigrating and the joys in creating a new life in America. My grandparents immigrated to the US and are now unable to tell me about their experience. I was touched by this book because I could imagine what my grandparents' experience was like via the story of Marisia. The author used sources from Ellis Island and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, so the images are accurate and detailed. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would recommend it for anyone who enjoys learning about the past and understanding the plights of other cultures and people in the world. A real treasure!

When I decided to do a term paper on the topic of Chinese American Women, I realized how little researched this particular topic is. I praise Ms. Ling for composing a book on a topic that is so important to so many Chinese Americans, Asian Americans, and everyone who wants to learn something important about Chinese American women. She is very detailed, thorough about her topic and also succinctly lucid. The amount of research that was done to write such a book must have been immense for Surviving on the Gold Mountain is a pure gem of a book. I have learned so much about the forgotten history of Chinese American women in the US. They are often overlooked by historians, especially the collective history of Chinese American women from 1850 to the 1990s. I applaud Ms. Ling for the detailed nature of her history and for her special research on certain important issues such as interracial marriage and the different occupations that Chinese American women have been forced to participate in in the past and in the present as well. This is by far the most comprehensive book published to date on the history of Chinese American women. Every issue one may need to know about the history of Chinese American women from the nineteenth and twentieth century is somehow encapsulated in this wonderfully written book.

I really liked the way that this was done. Not only was it interestingly written, it included good facts and nice pictures. The use of statistics was not overblown for the common reader, and it really gave a good flavor of the subjects. (I believe in short and sweet reviews)

Amazing anthology. You must read it. And be sure to check out "Father's Duties." One of the best short stories I've read in a while. Heart-breaking, but powerful.

OMG!! What can I say but that this book is awesome. The best poems and experiences are shared. I know some of the authors too. A must have for an Asian American.

I listened to this book as read by the Author. I recommend that, as I read Angela's Ashes and enjoyed it a lot as well, but there is something special about the reading by the author that adds a diminsion to the work that you can't quite catch reading it.

Up front, many are uncomfortable with this work and Angela's Ashes because of the language, which is quite blue in places. I don't find it the most endearing quality myself, but as a memoir it captures the language of the army, the loading dock, the teachers lounge and the bar. Be warned up front, if you are not comfortable hearing swearing, then this is NOT the book for you.

That having been said, listening to McCourt read, I caught the poetic, lyrical, stream of consciousness attributes that I knew were present in Angela's Ashes, but hearing the cadence, the lilting roll and flow of the language; there are parts of this book that come close to poetry. It is an amazing and endearing quality that is rarely achieved in most modern literature.

McCourt has a rare transparency with his insecurity, his dysfunctional relationships, his family dynamics, his romance with his first wife and his transition to teaching and moving toward writing is very revealing and almost has a therapeutic value as you listen and can recognize the human condition in general.

My one criticism, is that, perhaps, this book stretches a little long for the material he includes. The actual narrative events can be condensed to a very short story line. It is the embellishment, the thinking out loud and the dancing around in what becomes a farily discernible pattern by the end of the book to where, it "almost" becomes a little tedious, although this is faint criticism when weighed against the overall impact of the book.

A very entertaining listen and read! It is hard to follow-up on a Pulitzer Prize. The goal is lofty and the expectations overwhelming. My opinion is this book does not surpass its progenitor, but it certainly comes close and provides more of the same type of reading and entertainment.

I look forward to reading, and hopefully hearing the next installment.

Of his three well-written memoirs, "'Tis" has been the one of Frank McCourt's which I have unjustly underrated in the past (There are a complex scope of reasons, but looking back now, I recognize that it is definitely a credible - if somewhat artistically unsuccessful - sequel to "Angela's Ashes".). Much to both his - and his publisher's credit - Frank McCourt has been the one solely responsible for spellbinding audio versions of all three memoirs, told with ample grace and wit, via Frank's distinctively rich Irish-American brogue. Those who've enjoyed hearing Frank recount his youth in "Angela's Ashes" will be equally entranced with this recording of "Tis Unabridged: The Memoir". However, the scope of detail in "Tis" may not be nearly as enchanting as in "Angela's Ashes", since Frank deals unflinchingly with his own bouts with alcoholism, his rocky, romantic relationship with his first wife, and the harsh dissolution of that marriage, as well with his jobs from dock longshoreman to hotel porter and a reluctant U. S. Army dog trainer stationed in West Germany at the height of the Korean War. For those who truly admire not only Frank's elegant prose, but his rhapsodic voice, then this will be an important addition to their collection of McCourt memorabilia. Otherwise, potential purchasers may choose instead to buy the printed versions currently available of "Tis: A Memoir".

As someone else who has had to move several times due to the father's job I can relate on many levels with this book, my moves were every three years within the USA and not as diverse as the author's moves to other countries nor as dramatic as the military plane ride. ALAS, my family only travelled by station wagon. Fran Kramer's family had a 'you have to read this book' experience in post war Japan. The beauty of Japan and the Japanese people are stunning in the words of Fran Kramer.

A charming story of the daughter of an American Army officer living in post WWII Japan. For children it offers the classic tales of adjusting to a new home, pets, problems at school with teachers and bullies, and one attempt at playing hooky. On an adult level it reveals the complex differences between Japanese and American traditions, along with the universal undercurrent of curiosity and love among fellow human beings regardless of culture. If you a planning a trip to Japan or moving your family to any foreign country, The Traveling Sketch Book is a must read.

The book does an excellent job of showing the human side of the underground world of millions people in the United States.

A few weeks ago, I took Amtrak from San Jose, California to Los Angeles. While looking out the window at the strawberry farms in the Central Valley, I saw the migrant farm workers hunched over or kneeling in the hot sun as they picked strawberries. As a child and teenager, going strawberry picking at the pick-it-yourself farms in Watsonville, near Santa Cruz, was always a fun trip for me and I looked forward to going. For these workers, the strawberries were their sustenance, not a weekend family outing. Despite my yearly trips to the farm country, I never knew much about how these farm workers lived until I read their personal accounts in the book, Underground America.

Reading the stories of undocumented migrants in the book, Underground America, gave me a glimpse into the lives of not just the migrant farm workers harvesting the Golden State's crops, but into the difficulties of many people living illegally in the United States. The book gives a human face to the statistics we see on TV about illegal immigration. I was familiar with the harsh living conditions and migration patterns of undocumented Latin Americans in the US, but I was quite shocked at the stories of the African, South Asian, Chinese and Iranians in the book. One woman from South Africa came to the United States to work as a missionary and ended up cleaning and cooking in the dirty house of the pastor's daughter. She came to do the work of the Lord and was instead used for cheap labor. In order to pay for her family member's HIV treatments, she had to stay in the US and work as a nanny and housekeeper.

The conditions described in the detention facilities for illegal immigrants seem to parallel those in maximum security prisons. Why do we treat the people who do the jobs that few legal residents would ever want to do with such disgust? There was a striking story of a Mexican woman who came to the US with her two children. Her eldest son Victor became a transgender woman named Vica. She got AIDS. Vica was caught in an immigration raid and taken to a detention facility where the doctors refused to give her her needed AIDS medicines. She died chained to a bed.

These stories make take away the hidden nature of the underground in the United States. The strawberries have a story to them, and it's not sweet. The illegals are not criminals. We are profiting from their work and we have to face the reality of the way our economy works in the United States. We must be aware of the immigration struggle and the implications of our laws and government in order to create a just society.

Orner and his team of interviewers slice through all the political rhetoric and get at what really matters--the people--by letting "illegals" from all walks tell their stories. Reading these narratives, your heart will break and your blood will boil. With immigration sure to be a hot button debate this fall in the general election, any person who wants to speak intelligently to the issue owes it to themselves to read this book. In the tradition of Studs Terkel's Division Street USA and other great oral histories, this is a great and important book.