The Lebanese in America [Library Binding]

Elsa Marston (Author), Elsa M. Harik (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: In America

A survey of Lebanese immigration to the United States with a discussion of the contributions made by Lebanese to various areas of American life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8 Harik's well-written, interesting text offers a unique approach to geography and history. It is unfortunate that there is no bibliography or pronunciation guide. The insufficient number of maps will also limit usefulness. The black-and-white photographs, which are occasionally fuzzy, are realistic, people-oriented, and a complement to the text. Once past the unappealing cover, middle grade students should discover a wealth of information about the history, culture, and people of Lebanon, now and in the past. This is an updated, different approach to Newman's Lebanon (Watts, 1978; o.p.). Andrea Antico, Aurora Hills Middle School, Colo.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 95 pages
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group (February 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822502348
• ISBN-13: 978-0822502340
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,232,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The unique story of Lebanese immigration to the U.S., August 13, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lebanese in America (Library Binding)

The story of Arab immigration to the United States is rarely touched upon in American history textbooks, which is why this volume in the In America series by Elsa Marston Harik fills a void. The Lebanese were the first significant Arab group to immigrate to the United States, and in "The Labenese in America" Harik shows that their experience is not all that different from other ethnic groups. When life in the mountains of Lebanon became hard in the early years of the 20th century many Lebanese left their villages to seek their fortunes in America.

Harik begins by talking about the history of Lebanon from ancient times to today and then looks at the reasons why the first immigrants came to America, intending only to stay for a while before returning home. After explaining who were those first immigrants Harik covers the new lives they made in their new home and deal with the fact that for most of the last century Lebanon was part of Syria and the problems caused by Arabic writing presented to immigration officials (e.g., the name Khouri can be spelled as Khoury, Khuri, Couri, Koory, and Corey). Having heard various stories of the strange transformations wrought by immigration officers on the names of arriving immigrants this is old news to me, but it may well open the eyes of a few young readers.

There is also a chapter devoted entirely to Lebanese women in America before providing a look at some Lebanese Americans of note in the fields of government (e.g., Philip Habib, Ralph Nader), arts and entertainment (e.g., Kahil Gibran, Danny Thomas, Jamie Farr), and sports (e.g., Doug Flutie). The final chapters are devoted to the links that exist between Lebanese Americans and the old country as well as the future of the Lebanese in America. For young readers of Lebanese descent this book provides a clear picture of the story of how their ancestors came to the United States, and since this is one of the very volumes available to young readers on the particular topic of immigration from Lebanon hopefully they will find their way to it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a concise history of lebanese immigration to the U.S.A., April 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lebanese in America (Library Binding)

Elsa Harik provides a concise history of the lebanese immigration to the U.S.A. beginning in Lebanon. She relates the background of life in Lebanon and those factors which led to emmigration abroad. Many if not all of these factors were commmon to immigration from European,Far Eastern, and other Mideastern countries.