THE PRECARIOUS ROUTE TO A NEW WORLD
Between 1891 and the early 1930s nearly fifteen million people streamed through Ellis Island. Some came hoping to find the streets paved with gold; others expected to find savage natives waiting on the shores. All of them wanted a better, safer life than the one they had left behind.
Now, the poignant hopes, the deepest fears, and the incredible bravery of these immigrants, come to life as the men and women who made the journey recall their decisions to leave home, the treacherous trip across the Atlantic in windowless cargo holds, the often heartless encounters with bureaucracy on Ellis Island - and the first tastes of a strange and promising new world.
Sparkling with humor, irony, and nostalgia, these stories provide a unique personal look at a great historical phenomenon.
Between 1891 and the early 1930s nearly fifteen million people streamed through Ellis Island. Some came hoping to find the streets paved with gold; others expected to find savage natives waiting on the shores. All of them wanted a better, safer life than the one they had left behind.
Now, the poignant hopes, the deepest fears, and the incredible bravery of these immigrants, come to life as the men and women who made the journey recall their decisions to leave home, the treacherous trip across the Atlantic in windowless cargo holds, the often heartless encounters with bureaucracy on Ellis Island - and the first tastes of a strange and promising new world.
Sparkling with humor, irony, and nostalgia, these stories provide a unique personal look at a great historical phenomenon.
