Fresh Blood [Hardcover]

Sanford J. Ungar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 1995

Tracing immigration policy since World War II, a portrait of immigrant communities across the U.S. shows how they are able to maintain their ethnic identities while contributing to, rather than subtracting from, the nation's prosperity. 25,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Today's immigrants "are transforming-and constantly improving-America," declares former All Things Considered host Ungar with measured optimism in this readable potpourri of reportage and analysis. He offers sketches of individuals and of crises like that in a California town overrun by Border Patrol agents. In contrast to the newly conventional wisdom, Ungar argues that today's immigrants of color are not significantly different from previous arrivals, though some of his reportage is thin-no, he reports, New York schools have not quite been rejuvenated by immigrants. Ungar thoughtfully untangles why Californians are far more nativist than Texans and offers intriguing snapshots of groups such as the Poles in Chicago and the often unhappy Koreans in Los Angeles. Warning against short-term political expediency, he recommends Mexican border controls that fluctuate with economic cycles, because most immigrants don't want to stay; a revamping of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, including a better-trained Border Patrol; and a recognition that most illegal immigrants merely overstay their visas. Not a full response to Peter Brimelow's Alien Nation, but at least Ungar has actually talked with his subjects.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The former host of National Public Radio's All Things Considered takes a look at the new immigrant communities in this country and, along the way, addresses some of the more controversial questions and ideas surrounding them. Who are the new immigrants? Are they draining our country's resources? What are they contributing? Why don't they bother to learn English? Through visits to the Korean community in Los Angeles, a Polish one in Chicago, the Irish in Boston, Hmong in Minneapolis, and others, Ungar shows how these ethnic groups can contribute to American society while maintaining their own cultural identities. His in-depth interviews provide a human touch to the faceless masses known as "illegal aliens" and makes a strong case for the role that immigrants can play, given a chance. Also, he examines how we have dealt with immigration since World War II, why established immigrants turn their backs on newer immigrants, and why those whose grandparents immigrated to this country a few decades ago are exhibiting discrimination and hatred. Kathleen Hughes

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1ST edition (October 12, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684808609
• ISBN-13: 978-0684808604
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,806,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Passionate defense of immigration., June 20, 1998

By 

WD Grissom (Cabot, Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fresh Blood: THE NEW AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS (Paperback)

Ungar focuses on the human face of immigration in this highly readable but highly slanted survey.
His accounts of the experiences of the new arrivals are illuminating, and occasionally heartrending, but his unfair loading of language becomes tiresome and undermines his position. Opponents of unlimited immigration are repeatedly described as "angry"; they "sneer", exhibit "tirades" or even a "frenzy" of "vulgar...patter", while those who support Ungar's views engage in "philosophical musings" or "meekly protest".
The prospect of large sections of America becoming extensions of the Third World doesn't seem to bother the author, who seems to feel that border crossings cannot and should not be controlled, and "the number officially and legally admitted should more closely approximate the number who actually come each year". He recommends that American border activities concentrate on drug interdiction and public health measures, but it is unclear to this reviewer how those measures could be implemented in the chaos of an undefended border.
(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)