Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration

Gr 9 Up—This collection of 163 articles is arranged in chronological order. It offers more than one essay per group, considering that immigrants from various parts of the world arrived in separate waves, and are still arriving. Part One focuses on those groups that arrived from the 1600s to 1870 and includes pieces on African, Chinese, and European arrivals. The other two parts cover 1870-1940 and 1940 to the present. The set is quite wide-ranging; it offers an entire article on ethnic Germans from Russia and one on Cape Verdeans, for example. Topics within each article might focus on why the group arrived as well as how it adapted, and what remnants of the original culture survive. The text is approachable, and each essay is roughly 10 pages in length, concluding with an individual bibliography. Readers will find plenty of material here for research, but casual browsers will also be engaged. The set is anchored by a collection of essays on general topics in U.S. immigration, including racial, economic, and political issues. A solid addition to any collection supporting a substantial history or political science curriculum.—Carol Fazioli, Barth Elementary School, Pottstown, PA