The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization (Hardcover)

by Rinku Sen (Author), Fekkak Mamdouh (Contributor)
Key Phrases: social cohesion funds, cooperative restaurant, restaurant employers, United States, New York, Red Cross (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Moroccan-born waiter Fekkak Mamdouh's life was thrown into turmoil after 9/11, when Windows on the World, the restaurant he worked at in the World Trade Center, was destroyed. Immigrants in New York--and all over the United States--faced suspicion and discrimination.

Rinku Sen intertwines the story of Mamdouh and his colleagues' struggle for just treatment with an impassioned argument for a new immigration policy, one that would allow everyone to fully share the benefits of globalization. In the end, Sen and Mamdouh argue, native-born and immigrant workers have far more in common than either realizes.

From the Publisher
Praise for The Accidental American

"The Accidental American gives us the context, story and analysis we need for a just immigration policy. It is a must-read."
--Danny Glover, actor and activist

"If you have ever had to struggle as an outsider or a newcomer (and all of us have), this book will touch your heart. It is a poignant story that points the way forward for us all."
--Van Jones, President and Founder, Green for All, and author of The Green Collar Economy

"Windows on the World was the name of the World Trade Center restaurant that was destroyed on 9/11, and in The Accidental American it provides a window with a striking view. Sen and Mamdouh show how, in a few weeks in 2001, the restaurant's immigrant workers went from being victims of terrorism to being targets of American anti-immigrant fervor. There's a bright side, though, because this book vividly highlights a seldom-mentioned side of recent immigrants' experience: their willingness to struggle for better working conditions for workers of all ethnicities in their adopted nation."
--Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed, Bait and Switch, and Dancing in the Streets

"By focusing on the concrete experiences of particular people, Sen and Mamdouh show us an overlooked aspect of the global changes that have set contemporary immigration in motion. And because they also show us the resilient efforts of these ordinary people to act together to control the forces that are shaping all our lives, they tell a story that is essentially hopeful and, indeed, the only story that in the end matters."
--Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished Professor, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, and author of Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America

"Rinku Sen and Fekkak Mamdouh have brilliantly depicted the new stage in America's immigrant saga. They explore the shadowy corners of our modern global economy, the courageous battle for survival of low-wage migrant laborers, and the furious rise of anti-immigrant feeling here and in Europe. By organizing to improve their working conditions, they remind us, those immigrants are changing our nation for the better."
--Juan Gonzalez, New York Daily News columnist, author of Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America, and cohost of Democracy Now!

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1 edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576754383
• ISBN-13: 978-1576754382
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #258,066 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Engaging, Intentional Read, September 5, 2008

By	D. Stewart "D" (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews

To say that this book was a pleasant surprise is like saying that water in a desert oasis is an unnecessary extravagance. Since biographies and pure mind-candy fare take up most of my leisure reading, I was ready for a jargon filled sleeper. Instead Sen's The Accidental American took me on a gripping journey through our nation's often-tragic labor and immigration woes. All of this and more is wrapped in Mamdouh's own unexpected, some would say accidental, American experience.

Sen connects the dots between the real life experiences of people surviving wars abroad and discrimination in the US, to the rules of game as they are dictated by Beltway politics and societal stereotypes. In this book, the context of our nation's struggles is more complicated than the pre and post 911 analysis given on talking-head shows. We are shown a rare well-intended DC lobbyist, who is forced to deal with the in-your-face racism of mainstream operatives. New York City's restaurant culture of backroom exploitation and front of the house indulgence is skillfully set in the realm of historical labor struggles and dehumanizing immigration policy. And not to be content with just laying bare our nation's problems, Sen does something that too many so-called progressives miss entirely. She offers tangible, sensible solutions.

Tackling race, politics, policy and the lives of real people in a way that is compelling and intelligent is quite a feat. Sen does this and more. The Accidental American is indeed worth the read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read, September 11, 2008

By	W. Jager "needs to read" (new york) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sen and Mamdouh have successfully utilized this extremely personal story to illustrate the larger plight of the modern day immigrant. In a country where we are all either immigrants or decedents of immigrants - (unless of course you happen to be 100% Native American) where we point to the Statue of Liberty and proudly recite the Lazarus poem - "Give me your tired, your hungry your huddled masses yearning to be free" - we seem to have lost our way. The newspapers, the hate mongers and the politicians often play to individual insecurities when they cry out about our need to secure our boarders and to protect our country from foreigners. The statistics are always thrown at us 6 million, 10 million, 20 million illegal immigrants - we have to do something - they rant. Sen and Mamdouh put a face on these numbers, they tell a touching story of the reality of the effect of our immigration policy or non policy and what it has done to our American spirit. Extremely moving and well written. Bravo - a must read for all.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Story, September 7, 2008

By	Coco Ray "Coco" - See all my reviews

If you've ever wondered about the life story of the guy who drives you to the airport or serves you a meal in a restaurant, then you want to read this book. Fekkak Mamdouh's life is both typical and extraordinary, from his childhood in Morocco to his struggle for the rights of all restaurant workers. It is a very engaging way to learn more about immigration policy. Whatever your views on immigration are, Mamdouh's story reminds us of the humanity of all people.