Ellis Island and the Peopling of America: The Official Guide [Paperback]

Virginia Yans-McLaughlin (Author), Marjorie Lightman (Author), Inc. Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation (Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

Over three million people visit Ellis Island, the "Golden Door to America," every year. Ellis Island has become an invaluable resource center on immigration and genealogy as well as a national tourist attraction, widely praised for its excellent displays and informative exhibits. Now, the best of the Ellis Island Museum is available to readers everywhere from The Ellis Island-Statue of Liberty Foundation. Fascinating primary-source documents offer an exciting overview of Ellis Island, placing it in historical context with a concise history of immigration and global migration. This comprehensive guide is a must for anyone interested in immigration in general and Ellis Island in particular.

Ellis Island: A Reader and Resource Guide includes * Entry interviews with immigrants
* Descriptions of mental and physical health evaluations
* Oral histories and memoirs of immigrants and immigration officers
* Correspondence from the 1921 Commissioner of Immigration to the Secretary of Labor
* Census information on immigrants
* Photographs and prints from the 1800s to the present
* Maps, charts, graphs, and political cartoons
* Activities and topics for writing and discussion
* A bibliography of related materials: books, videos, and CD-ROMs

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This history of the place H. G. Wells once called "quietly immense" is a fine contribution to our understanding of how central immigrants have been to the American experience. Virginia Yans-McLaughlin and Marjorie Lightman, both historians, track the great historic waves of migration by which America was peopled following the first arrival of settlers from the British Isles; assemble documentary evidence of reaction to these newcomers, both hostile and sympathetic; and provide a set of study guides and questions for the use of high school students.

From School Library Journal

YA?An ideal starting point for a study of the role of immigration in American history and sociology. Don't be misled by the title; this is much more than just a guide to the museum. In addition to chronicling the waves of newcomers to America's shores from the Age of Exploration to the present, the book discusses immigration policy, past and present, and Ellis Island as a relic of that policy. A lengthy section includes historical documents such as letters, visas, the text of speeches delivered in Congress, legal documents, editorials and political cartoons, maps, charts, and graphs, all of which are keyed to the preceding text. These documents add welcome details without weighing down the narrative. One chapter describes ways in which the book can be used as a teaching resource and has a bibliography that includes fiction, autobiography, and nonfiction by and about immigrants arranged by country of origin. The volume concludes with an annotated listing of related films, videos, and filmstrips. There is no index. This is an attractively designed book with lots of photographs from the museum's collection and time lines throughout. It is useful for those planning to visit the museum or for assignments on genealogy or history.?Patricia Noonan, Prince William Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 209 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565843649
• ISBN-13: 978-1565843646
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,193,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short, concise, honestly informative., April 3, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Ellis Island and the Peopling of America: The Official Guide (Paperback)

Data is only one side to the realities existing in history. This work serves to balance the reader between cold, overhead retrospective data and warm, close-up human perspective creating a full picture of how we've arrived where we are. The first parts of the book are full of tables and graphs. This is followed by documents of the time, personal letters, court records... I highly recommend Ellis Island and the People of America to anyone interested in a brief (yet fufilling) picture of how the United States was populated.