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Essays on Immigration (Dover Thrift Editions)
Essays on Immigration - Dover Thrift Editions Author:Bob Blaisdell (Editor) "In America, everything was possible," recalls Louis Adamic of Slovenia. "There even the common people were 'citizens,' not 'subjects' . . . a citizen, or even a non-citizen foreigner, could walk up to the President of the United States and pump his hand. Indeed, that seemed to be a custom in America." — ... more »The history and experience of immigration remain central to American culture, past and present. This anthology surveys the recollections of emigrants from around the world who sought new lives in the United States. Their stories range in mood and setting from the misery of an Englishman in colonial Virginia, bound by indentured servitude, to the cultural commentary of an Iranian woman in California. Poignant, eye-opening reflections include those of a Polish sweatshop laborer, a Chinese businessman, an Italian bootblack, and a Ukrainian musician, in addition to observations and reminiscences by Jacob Riis, Edwidge Danticat, Junot Díaz, and other well-known authors.
Richard Frethorne [England]: Letters from an Indentured Servant (1623) --
Gottlieb Mittelberger [Germany]: Journey to Pennsylvania (1754) --
Hector St. John de Crevecoeur [France]: What Is an American? (1782) --
Frank Lecouvreur [Prussia]: From East Prussia to the Golden Gate (1852) --
Emma Lazarus [United States]: The New Colossus (1883) --
Hans Mattson [Sweden]: Reminiscences: The Story of an Emigrant (1891) --
Sadie Browne [Poland]: The Life Story of a Polish Sweatshop Girl (1906) --
Lee Chew [China]: The Life Story of a Chinese Businessman (1906) --
Rocco Corresca [Italy]: The Life Story of an Italian Bootblack (1906) --
Jacob Riis [Denmark]: The Making of an American (1908) --
Abraham Rihbany [Syria]: Lights and Shadows (1914) --
Edward Steiner [Slovakia]: From Alien to Citizen (1914) --
Anna Hilda Louise Walther [Denmark]: A Pilgrimage with a Milliner's Needle (1917) --
Rose Cohen [Russia]: Out of the Shadow (1918) --
Edward Bok [Holland]: Where America Fell Short with Me (1922) --
Louis Adamic [Slovenia]: Amerikansi in Carniola (1932) --
Stoyan Pribichevich [Yugoslavia]: In an American Factory (1938) --
AndreÌs Aragon [Spain]: After the Death of Spain (1978) --
Nicholas Gerros [Greece]: Greek Horatio Alger (1978) --
Carlos Bulosan [Philippines]: My Education (1979) --
Edwidge Danticat [Haiti]: A New World Full of Strangers (1987) --
Vladimir Vernikov [Russia]: The ABC of a New Profession (1991) --