Customer Reviews

Portuguese Spinner: An American Story

5 star:		(3)
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As an immigrant from St. Michael, Azores, who was raised in the south end of New Bedford, Massachusetts, one might think I had little to gain from a book describing my "roots," but quite the opposite was true. Every morning I read a few pages with my coffee and almost every morning I found myself teary-eyed and nostalgic. My emotional reaction to the book came from feelings of compassion, pride and a deep understanding that was stirred by the stories, cases, and historical background so beautifully captured by the writers and editors. The photography is wonderful as well. I've now purchased three copies of this book and expect to still buy more. I want to share it with family and friends and don't want to give up my copy so I'll keep buying them as gifts. My sister, who still lives in Portugal, said that if this book were translated into Portuguese, it would be well-received in Europe and Brazil. I know my parents, who are non-English speakers, would enjoy it thoroughly if it were translated. Meanwhile, I shall treasure it both as a remarkable example of documentation of the immigrant experience and as a personal reminder of my heritage. Non-Portuguese friends of mine have also found it fascinating and a valuable contribution to an often ignored aspect of American history. Many kudos (and much gratitude) to the editors and publishers for a major accomplishment.

The Portugues Spinner, was the best book that I've ever read and it took me, only a few days to read it and I've never read this fast before { I just couldn't put the book down ]! My ancestors came from Sao Miquel and Sao Jorge, Acores and lived in New Bedford, Mass. I was born in New Bedford and this book brought back so many memories of living there and I still remember lots of those places. I went to Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Church and School! The pictures were Great and it was wonderful reading about your own town like that. I also worked at the factory that was mentioned in the book when I was only 16 yrs.old. I will pass this book along to my children so, they can enjoy it too! Thank you so much! Sincerely, Mrs. Olivia Rosa Silva Strittmatter Tucson, Arizona

I also ordered this book as part of my research into the family tree of a friend given that I had traced his heritage to the New England area. Imagine my surprise and delight when I realized that part of my friend's family are featured on the cover and found an additional photo of his grandmother and his aunt within the book!!! He was stunned when I showed them to him and explained what I had learned about the new-found relatives he never knew he had until now. Finding gold like this makes researching FUN!