Customer Reviews

American Passage: The History of Ellis Island

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Professor Cannato has created a remarkable work of history. It is beautifully written and superbly researched. Cannato reshapes your views on Ellis Island without preaching or taking a one-sided view of history. The reader is never overwhelemd yet the depth of research is remarkable; stories of individuals (their triumphs and tragedies) adds to the cogent research.I enjoyed the chapter structure; wonderful, grabber introductions, fascianting, detailed body of work, and conclusions that help the reader wrap up the main points. Informative, well-written, and a myth buster....This is the way history ought to be written. Bravo.

Like many in this country I am the descendant of folks who crossed the ocean in steerage, and then made it safely through Ellis Island, which is the subject of this excellent book. When I read of all the requirements that were put onto those hoping to enter this country, I am extremely grateful that I am here today and not planting potatoes somewhere in Poland.

The book goes through the entire history of Ellis Island, from its first incarnation as a place to hang criminals, through its various stages of immigration reception, through the many changes and renovations made to it, and finally to the tourist attraction (and national treasure) that it is today.

I had occasion to take my wife, two of my chilren, and my two granddaughters to Ellis Island a few years ago, and I was in awe of the place, and couldn't believe what my forebearers had to go through so that I could be there observing. Using the computers there, we were able to find my father's father, and my wife's mother's father, and learned how and when they arrived on our shores.

The book says that names weren't changed by officials there, but I tend to disagree. My grandfather's name was Appolinarious (sp?), but it was changed to Paul at Ellis Island. It's easier to say, because in Polish his name is pronounced much differently than it is written above.

We should all take some time out to see this place, and then stop to admire and thank our ancestors for having the courage to come to a new land and raise their families.

Vincent Cannato does a wonderful job of demystifying Ellis Island and in American Passage does a wonderful job of showing how Ellis Island was a metaphor for the battle regarding what constituted America's immigration policy and what resulted in the restrictive policies of the post WW I era.

Cannato shows that the vast number of immigrants of the Ellis Island era, while not from the preferred parts of Europe like earlier immigrants, were by and large hardworking individuals who sought to have their own little piece of the American dream. The great struggle regarding which group should be admitted and which group should not is mapped out in epic detail. He also does a wonderful job at demonstrating the internal political struggles that beset Ellis Island during its peak years of operation.

Cannato also shows that not all the immigrants who came into the country during this period were of ideal motives. Where the book tends to drag is that it draws too much from leaders and senators and does not offer a balanced view by showing successful immigrants. However that does not stop this from being a very interesting story and an interesting read.

Vincent Cannato recants the history of Ellis island with captivating passages and intropective reflection. I originally bought the book because I met the author briefly at a local wine tasting event. In a reading lull, I started the book and immediately was transformed to the 1800's and the difficulties and politics that surrounds "coming to America". This is not your high school history book. The personal stories of the immigrants plight to escape oppression and/or to find happiness and a better life in America is intergrated with the politics of the era that eerily echos those of the present day.
A totally interesting read that surprised me with it's pathos,accuracy and insight. A must read if you have ancestors that came through Ellis Island or are just interested in reading a very down to earth accounting on how the immigration process evolved.

Ellis Island's story is as vast and diverse as the multitude of immigrants who passed through the island's gates; but Dr. Vincent J. Cannato, associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, is a scholar more than equal to the task of writing an epic history. In the pages of American Passage, our nation's most iconic immigration-processing facility bustles anew with activity; and the voices of the myriad thousands who crossed the oceans in search of better lives in the United States again echoes throughout the island's long-silent corridors. The poor, the wealthy, the oppressed--indeed all humanity--are represented in Cannato's story, which combines superb research, on-target analysis, and exquisite prose within a compelling narrative that proves impossible to put down. Immigration is as important to American history as the "shot heard 'round the world" at Lexington; and the most visible symbol of that truth, Ellis Island, now has a scholarly counterpart in Cannato's American Passage. Appealing to both scholar and layperson alike, American Passage: The History of Ellis Island will undoubtedly assume its proper place as the definitive interpretation in Ellis Island historiography, and will certainly be one of the landmark studies in immigration scholarship.

My paternal ancestors came to this country through Castle Garden. I was interested in the history of CG and events leading up to construction of Ellis Island. I found that this volumn filled most of my needs but there was also the feeling that the author was being "paid by the pound". To me, there was too much superflous material that had little to do with the primary subject. Most of the material is excellent background on the trials and tribulations of the new immigrant.

For the millions of Americans whose ancestors entered America with a first step on this historic island, this is a telling of their family's history. I recently obtained copies of the passenger lists and photos of the ships my family sailed on during their voyage to this country seeking a new beginning. I knew they had come through Ellis Island, but I knew little of it's history nor what these immigrants had actually endured before being accepting as "new Americans". I had to laugh when I read in one chapter that "some of the most undesirable sources of the population (new immigrants) were from Italy, Austria and Russia. My grandfather, who came from Austria in 1903, was a remarkable, hard working man who became a sucessful citizen. To think there were some who considered him "undesirable" makes my shake my head in disbelief. Mr. Cannato has written an extremely readable and enjoyable book on the history of Ellis Island. It is a both a story of political corruption on the part of some who preyed on these arrivals, as well a story of hope and new beginnings. Bravo Mr. Cannato, well done!!

Cannato gives us an informative book, but not of the type one might be expecting. Undoubtedly a great deal of research has gone into the writing of this history but one cannot help but feel that it is written far too often from the point of view of bureaucrats and officials and not the immigrants themselves. Where there are personal stories, they tend to be the ones that have been previously publicized.

While Cannato attempts objectivity with his subjects he clearly paints immigration officials as well meaning and in a difficult position while painting the stories from those detained on the island and political activists as exaggerated, purely for propaganda or outright lies. His harsher treatment of the stories of IWW prisoners and Emma Goldman in comparison to various liberal bureaucrats and supposedly non-political immigrants is very telling.

If one is interested in the history of Ellis Island and New York City and federal government, this book would be of interest. If one is interested in an objective look from all sides of those as Ellis Island, one should look elsewhere.

Both of my parents immigrated to the United States with their families as children around the year 1910. This history put me in touch with their struggles. It also shows the cycles of how Americans feel about new immigrants over different eras of our history. It is a very relevant read based on the present immigration debate.

In this book Vincent Cannato, a historian, examines the history and politics of Ellis Island from 1892-1924, a period when twelve millions immigrants were processed there. The author's obviously performed exhaustive research and details the evolution of public policy for admittance into the United States. This history of immigration is replete with actual immigration cases of people who were filtered through the system. Some admitted and others deported based on changing progressive policies including eugenics. For over a hundred years America had an open border policy and this book shows where and how that changed in the early 1900's. I suggest that any one interested in U.S. History, the progressive movement, or the ongoing immigration debate read this book.