About the Author

Roger Daniels is Charles Phelps Taft Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1961 and is a past president of both the Immigration and Ethnic History Society and the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era. He has written widely about Asian Americans and immigration. Among his most recent books are Not Like Us: Immigrants and Minorities in America, 1890-1924; Debating American Immigration, 1882-Present (with Otis Graham); and American Immigration: A Student Companion.

Reviews

"From almost every corner of the globe, in numbers great and small, America has drawn people whose contributions are as varied as their origins. Historians have spent much of the last generation investigating the separate pieces of that great story. Now historian Roger Daniels has crafted a work that does justice to the whole." -- San Francisco Chronicle"A valuable contribution to the growing field of historical research on immigration . . . concentrating on the demographics and everyday lives of immigrants to America in three periods: colonial times, 1820-1924, and the modem era . . . A solid volume for readers in search of their roots." -- Booklist"Substantial, impressive." -- Publishers Weekly"Perhaps the most authoritative and readable single-volume history of immigration yet written. Nationality by nationality, Daniels traces the migration of refugees to this country as far back as the year 1500." -- Provo(Utah) Daily Herald"Encyclopedic in scope, yet lively and provocative.... One of those rare books that will serve experts and the general public equally well." -- San Francisco Chronicle

University of Cincinnati history professor Daniels, in this substantial, impressive social analysis, focuses on the diverse motives and experiences of those who have settled in the U.S. since 1500. He illustrates how, despite racial conflicts, varied ethnic patterns and cultures, emigres, including the controversial recent influx of Hispanics and Cold War refugees, have adapted and contributed to American society. His rich lode of personalized data yields portraits ranging from those of ``nonreligious, hired gun'' Miles Standish to second-generation Italian-American Lee Iacocca. Daniels concludes with a forceful argument that, despite rising nativism spurred by illegal migrants, more immigration is needed to reverse a population decline. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Oct.)

This book provides the first comprehensive history of immigration to the United States in 20 years. It deals with the initial immigration of Western Europeans and Africans during Colonial times, the great influx of Mediterraneans, Eastern Europeans, and Asians from 1820 to 1924, and the more recent migrations of Mexicans, South Americans, and Southeast Asians. Within these three major migration periods, the book is organized into sections about specific immigrant groups. Though offering little analysis of the many reasons for and implications of immigration, this textbook-like narrative utilizes nearly all the existing scholarship on the topic to create a readable synthesis. It provides a quick reference source for nonspecialists and general readers.-- David Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle

"From almost every corner of the globe, in numbers great and small, America has drawn people whose contributions are as varied as their origins. Historians have spent much of the last generation investigating the separate pieces of that great story. Now historian Roger Daniels has crafted a work that does justice to the whole." -- San Francisco Chronicle"A valuable contribution to the growing field of historical research on immigration . . . concentrating on the demographics and everyday lives of immigrants to America in three periods: colonial times, 1820-1924, and the modem era . . . A solid volume for readers in search of their roots." -- Booklist"Substantial, impressive." -- Publishers Weekly"Perhaps the most authoritative and readable single-volume history of immigration yet written. Nationality by nationality, Daniels traces the migration of refugees to this country as far back as the year 1500." -- Provo(Utah) Daily Herald"Encyclopedic in scope, yet lively and provocative.... One of those rare books that will serve experts and the general public equally well." -- San Francisco Chronicle