From 1910 to 1940; over half a million people sailed through the Golden Gate; hoping to start a new life in America. But they did not all disembark in San Francisco; instead; most were ferried across the bay to the Angel Island Immigration Station. For many; this was the real gateway to the United States. For others; it was a prison and their final destination; before being sent home.In this landmark book; historians Erika Lee and Judy Yung (both descendants of immigrants detained on the island) provide the first comprehensive history of the Angel Island Immigration Station. Drawing on extensive new research; including immigration records; oral histories; and inscriptions on the barrack walls; the authors produce a sweeping yet intensely personal history of Chinese "paper sons;" Japanese picture brides; Korean students; South Asian political activists; Russian and Jewish refugees; Mexican families; Filipino repatriates; and many others from around the world. Their experiences on Angel Island reveal how America's discriminatory immigration policies changed the lives of immigrants and transformed the nation. A place of heartrending history and breathtaking beauty; the Angel Island Immigration Station is a National Historic Landmark; and like Ellis Island; it is recognized as one of the most important sites where America's immigration history was made. This fascinating history is ultimately about America itself and its complicated relationship to immigration; a story that continues today.
#872512 in Books 2016-01-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.50 x 1.20 x 9.30l; .0 #File Name: 0199828008320 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. But with great patience Breen takes the reader through the sequence of ...By Brian BarbourBreen does a number of difficult things and he does them well. For example; the narrative has three sections: the revolt itself; the trials; and then the capture and confession of Nat Turner two months later. The first of these is enshrouded in “the fog of war.†Who knew what; when? This is almost impossible to answer as are the related questions; Who was involved at any particular moment; and How willing was his involvement? But with great patience Breen takes the reader through the sequence of actions as it unfolded over the three days of the revolt; carefully setting out the evidence at each step; and showing the obstacles the rebels faced and the constantly changing circumstances they had to understand and cope with. He keeps his attention on these now-barely-knowable individuals; and with great intellectual integrity he rejects the temptation to subsume Nat and Moses and Jack and Sam and Will and the fifty or so others involved at one moment or another into the anonymous categories of sentimental soft-marxist “analysis†– gender; race; class. These were men who acted and in Breen’s telling they remain men with all the moral and existential complications that involves. A key problem for the rebels was that of recruiting as they went along. As Breen reminds us; every young man the rebels encountered had to face the terrible question; Do I join the rebels and do murder (even infants were not spared in the killing)? Or do I remain a slave and continue to live out my life in this deep injustice? And if I stay do I warn the white folks and bring the wrath of both sides down on me? And this had to be answered in the cauldron of the moment not at the end of a two-hour seminar with a glass of sherry in hand and the bell tolling across the quad. Breen uses language from W.E.B. DuBois to sort through this terrifying moral dilemma – “double consciousness†– but the dilemma speaks for itself. Huck Finn would have recognized it. The book began as a dissertation and it bears some marks of that dubious origin and some of the clunky language it demands. But from the time Nat Turner is captured the prose moves crisply and with a new freedom; and the balanced and sympathetic judgments Breen reaches are those of a mature scholar and thinker.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. History well-toldBy CustomerPart murder mystery; part courtroom drama; and throughout; a story well-told. Great historical detection; solidly researched. This is history as it should be practiced. The real-life uncertainty that surrounds these events from so long ago is captured by this historian. I particularly liked his statement; “Certainty is a quantity in short supply when studying history….†This is serious scholarship on an important subject. This book causes you to think. Highly recommended.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Breen's understanding of the inner conflict of slaves and the ...By JourneysBreen's understanding of the inner conflict of slaves and the "dualism" created by competing loyalties underscores the humanity of each individual slave and the common threads shared by all humankind. A necessary read for anyone interested in how antebellum tensions led to emancipation and the subsuquent history that has shaped our nation.
