Journeys: An American Story
72 Essays about Immigration and American Greatness
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A compilation of American immigration tales, featuring seventy-two essays from Nancy Pelosi, Dr. Oz, Michael Bloomberg, Alan Alda, Mary Choi, and others.
Journeys captures the quintessential idea of the American dream. The individuals in this book are only a part of the brilliant mosaic of people who came to this country and made it what it is today. Read about the governor’s grandfathers who dug ditches and cleaned sewers, laying the groundwork for a budding nation; how a future cabinet secretary crossed the ocean at age eleven on a cargo ship; about a young boy who fled violence in Budapest to become one of the most celebrated American football players; the girl who escaped persecution to become the first Vietnamese American woman ever elected to the US congress; or the limo driver whose family took a seventy-year detour before finally arriving at their original destination, along with many other fascinating tales of extraordinary and everyday Americans.
In association with the New-York Historical Society, Andrew Tisch and Mary Skafidas have reached out to a variety of notable figures to contribute an enlightening and unique account of their family’s immigration story. All profits will be donated to the New-York Historical Society and the Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation.
Featuring essays by: Arlene Alda, Tony Bennett, Cory Booker, Barbara Boxer, Elaine Chao, Andrew Cuomo, Ray Halbritter, Jon Huntsman, Wes Moore, Stephanie Murphy, Deborah Norville, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Gina Raimondo, Tim Scott, Jane Swift, Marlo Thomas, And many more!
“Illustrate[s] the positive and powerful impact that immigration has had in weaving the fabric of America . . . inspiring.” —Warren Buffett
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This excellent collection of 72 essays, compiled by Tisch and Skafidas, cochair and vice president of Loews Corporation, respectively, pays homage to the American immigrant experience. Written by a diverse group of immigrants and their descendants, the pieces recall fleeing war, persecution, and poverty for opportunity and freedom in America; in stories that are peppered with harrowing journeys, multigenerational family lore, extraordinary firsts, and much gratitude. Tisch and Skafidas acknowledge that although "every story brings... a tale that helped make this country great," not all immigrants arrived voluntarily. "In my family's stories... I knew of no Lady Liberty opening her golden door beside Ellis Island. My American ancestry came up from slavery," notes Sen. Cory Booker in his contribution. U.S. secretary of transportation Elaine Chao was only eight years old when a 37-day sea journey on a cargo ship brought her and her family to America from Taiwan. Florida congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress, describes her family's experiences fleeing communism in 1979. Historian Eugene Dattel's intimate story of his East European Jewish family's life in Mississippi is a familiar tale for many Jews in the South. These trailblazers, and their forebears, sing of the quintessential American dream in a chorus of voices. Correction: An earlier version of this review misstated the number of essays included in the collection.
