American Passage: The History of Ellis Island

American Passage: The History of Ellis Island
ISBN-10
0061940399
ISBN-13
9780061940392
Series
American Passage
Category
History
Pages
512
Language
English
Published
2009-06-09
Publisher
Harper Collins
Author
Vincent J. Cannato

Description

"By bringing us the inspiring and sometimes unsettling tales of Ellis Island, Vincent Cannato’s American Passage helps us understand who we are as a nation.” — Walter Isaacson The remarkable saga of America’s landmark port of entry, from immigration post to deportation center to mythical icon. For most of New York's early history, Ellis Island had been an obscure little island that barely held itself above high tide. Today the small island stands alongside Plymouth Rock in our nation's founding mythology as the place where many of our ancestors first touched American soil. American Passage captures a time and a place unparalleled in American immigration and history, and articulates the dramatic and bittersweet accounts of the immigrants, officials, interpreters, and social reformers who all played an important role in Ellis Island's chronicle. In this sweeping, often heart-wrenching epic, Vincent J. Cannato reveals that the history of Ellis Island is ultimately the story of what it means to be an American.

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