Immigrant, Inc.: Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and how they will save the American worker) [Hardcover]

Richard T. Herman (Author), Robert L. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2009

A provocative look at the remarkable contributions of high-skill immigrant entrepreneurs in America

Both a revelation and a call-to-action, Immigrant, Inc. explores the uncommon skill and drive of America's new immigrants and their knack for innovation and entrepreneurship. From the techies who created icons of the new economy-Intel, Google, eBay and Sun Microsystems-to the young engineers tinkering with solar power and next-generation car batteries, immigrants have proven themselves to be America's competitive advantage.

With a focus on legal immigrants and their odyssey from homeland to start-up, this unique book

• Explores the psyche, cultural nuances, skills, and business strategies that help immigrants achieve remarkable success
• Explains how immigrants will create the American jobs of the future-if we let them

Whether you are a CEO, a civic leader, or an entrepreneur yourself, Immigrant, Inc. warns of the peril of anti-immigrant attitudes and a hostile immigration process. It also explains how any American can tap their "inner immigrant" to transform their lives and their companies.

Written by an immigration lawyer who represents immigrant entrepreneurs and a journalist who specializes in international culture, the authors have a front-row seat to this phenomenon, offering a fascinating glimpse into the mindset of the most persistent entrepreneurs of the era.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The authors describe the attributes that foster entrepreneurship in this group of individuals: immigrants tend to have a culture that supports education, entrepreneurship, family, and a high-energy work ethic. Entreneurship might also be important to this group because of issues related to discrimination, legal hassels, language barriers, and lack of money." (Choice, July 2010)

"Immigrant, Inc., is the provocative title of a book that argues that talented newcomers are the best hope that America has to create the jobs we will need to lift this country out of recession." (sfgate.com, January 18, 2010)

"The authors of Immigrant Inc. go beyond praising talented immigrant entrepreneurs to explore their mindset, cultural specificities and their high level of determination and innovative thinking." (Businessworld Magazine, India)

"Want to add energy, creativity, jobs and increased prosperity to the regional and state economies? Do everything possible (and legal) to attract skilled immigrants. That is the compelling message of Richard T. Herman, a Cleveland immigration attorney, and Robert L. Smith, a Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter, in their new book." (Akron Beacon-Journal)

Review

"We've all heard of the entrepreneurial power of modern-day immigrants to America. But this book goes further. It shows how newcomers to our shores, setting up their own firms, excelling in cutting-edge technologies, employing and working with native Americans, are essential to the United States' economic well-being, indeed its very future in a fiercely competitive 21st century world."
—Neal Peirce, The Washington Post Writers Group

"Immigrant, Inc. is well researched, wonderfully written, and a fun, fast read. Like The Millionaire Next Door, Robert Smith and Richard Herman wowed readers with stories of extraordinary people doing extraordinary things, and in the process, they are also creating a more diverse, vibrant and colorful America. A page turner—I couldn't put it down."
—Loung Ung, author of First They Killed My Father and Lucky Child

"The authors' passion comes through in this fantastic book that points to the power and importance of intercultural partnerships in a global economy."
—Connie Atkins, executive director, Consortium of African American Organizations

"Richard Herman and Robert Smith paint a compelling and accurate portrait of the powerful role immigrants play in our economy, and remind us that new people, ideas, and entrepreneurial energy is the American Dream story. Required reading for all policy makers and practitioners working to help America keep its competitive edge in the 21st century."
—John Austin, senior fellow, The Brookings Institution, director, Great Lakes Economic Initiative

"As Americans prepare to celebrate a Thanksgiving holiday that marks the harvest of some of the first European immigrants to America, they may want to settle in with some reading appropriate for the day. A good choice would be Immigrant, Inc.: ... In the end, judgments about immigration policy will, or should, turn less on calculations about the federal fiscal budget and more on assessments of America's national character as a refuge and a place where newcomers can innovate and build new lives, as they have from the days of those pioneering Pilgrims right through to the contemporary characters whose stories are so compellingly told in this book."
—Ira Stoll, author of Samuel Adams: A Life and editor of FutureofCapitalism.com

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 226 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470455713
• ISBN-13: 978-0470455715
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #838,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, November 25, 2009

By 

Ira E. Stoll - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Immigrant, Inc.: Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and how they will save the American worker) (Hardcover)

The achievements documented in this book are impressive. Immigrants co-founded half the high-tech companies in Silicon Valley and a quarter of the biotech companies in New England. Immigrants are more likely than other Americans to launch companies and to obtain patents. Intel, co-founded by Hungarian immigrant Andrew Grove, employs 90,000 people, while Google, co-founded by Russian immigrant Sergey Brin, employs 20,000. An immigrant from India, Vinod Khosla, co-founded Sun Microsystems. The CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi, is Indian-born. News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch is an immigrant from Australia. Yahoo! was founded by Jerry Yang, an immigrant from Taiwan; Paypal by Elon Musk, an immigrant from South Africa; eBay by Pierre Omidyar, an immigrant from France.

The authors focus on a few lesser-known immigrant success stories and tell them in some detail. There are Te-Ming Chiang, an immigrant from Taiwan, and Ric Fulop, an immigrant from Venezuela, who founded the battery-maker A123, which powers Black & Decker's professional power tools. There is Monte Ahuja, an immigrant from India who started working as a ditch-digger and sleeping on a cot at a Y in Cleveland, then founded Transtar Industries, which he built into the world's largest seller of transmission parts, with 1,800 employees and $500 million in annual revenues.

There is Farouk Shami, who was the most successful hairdresser in Ramallah, in the West Bank, and who after coming to America founded a shampoo, hair dye, and nail polish company with $1 billion a year in revenues. And Quy "Charlie" Ton, an immigrant from Vietnam whose more than 1,000 Regal Nails outlets are America's largest chain of nail salons.

Why the success? To some degree, immigrants are a self-selecting group. "To immigrate is an entrepreneurial act," the authors quote Edward Roberts, founder of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center, as saying.

Expanding immigration and overhauling immigration law seems to lag behind the Obama administration's other priorities, such as "stimulus," health care, financial regulation, and carbon reduction. But the authors make a case that changes to immigration laws could help close the federal deficit by creating more growth and more taxpayers, adding between $66 billion and $100 billion to federal revenues over 10 years. In the end judgments about immigration policy will, or should, turn less on calculations about the federal fisc and more on assessments of America's national character as a refuge and a place where newcomers can innovate and build new lives, as have the contemporary characters whose stories are so compellingly told in this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing look at the immigrant spirit., November 28, 2009

By 

Strasnia (Santa Fe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Immigrant, Inc.: Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and how they will save the American worker) (Hardcover)

I found this book truly inspirational. "Immigrant, Inc." was well researched and clearly written, giving insight into the personalities and motivations of many of today's immigrants. Thank goodness there are people, such as these authors, who can shed light on the important and constructive aspects of immigration, especially in light of the overwhelming negative discussion that seems to pervade our media. I didn't know what to expect in this book, but I found it a pleasure to read and also an interesting window into the current, hot new ideas driving today's economy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revelatory Read, November 22, 2009

By 

J. Pitonzo (Florence, Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Immigrant, Inc.: Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and how they will save the American worker) (Hardcover)

As one who has heard the stories of my ancestors for years, and traced their journeys from Italy to Ellis Island and beyond, I immediately purchased this book and couldn't have been happier to have done so. It is original, honest, thought-provoking, and in many ways inspirational. I too, am an immigrant, having emigrated to Italy, nearly 20 years ago, so the book fills me with a certain amount of pride. It not only reveals the importance of allowing new blood and new ideas into the lifestream of the U.S., or any country, but Robert Smith's book is a testament to the necessity of a brotherhood among nations.