Ellis Island

A people's history

Malgorzata Szejnert

$49.99

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Scribe Publications
01 September 2020

History; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Social & cultural history; Oral history; Migration, immigration & emigration

A landmark work of history that brings the voices of the past vividly to life, transforming our understanding of the immigrant experience.

A landmark work of history that brings the voices of the past vividly to life, transforming our understanding of the immigrant experience.

Whilst living in New York, journalist Malgorzata Szejnert would often gaze out from lower Manhattan at Ellis Island, a dark outline on the horizon. How many stories did this tiny patch of land hold? How many people had joyfully embarked on a new life there - or known the despair of being turned away? How many were held there against their will?

Ellis Island draws on unpublished testimonies, memoirs and correspondence from many internees and immigrants, including Russians, Italians, Jews, Japanese, Germans, and Poles, along with commissioners, interpreters, doctors, and nurses - all of whom knew they were taking part in a tremendous historical phenomenon.

It tells the many stories of the island, from Annie Moore, the Irishwoman who was the first to be processed there, to the diaries of Fiorello La Guardia, who worked at the station before going on to become one of New York City's greatest mayors, to depicting the ordeal the island went through during the 9/11 attacks. At the book's core are letters recovered from the Russian State Archive, a heartrending trove of correspondence from migrants to their loved ones back home. But their letters never reached their destination- instead, they were confiscated by intelligence services and remained largely unseen.

Far from the open-door policy of myth, we see that deportations from Ellis Island were often based on pseudo-scientific ideas about race, gender, and disability. Sometimes, families were broken up, and new arrivals were held in detention at the Island for days, weeks, or months under quarantine. Indeed the island compound has spent longer as an internment camp than as a migration station.

Today, the island is no less political. In popular culture, it is a romantic symbol of the generations of immigrants that reshaped the United States. But its true history reveals that today's immigration debate has deep roots. Now a master storyteller brings its past to life, illustrated with unique archival photographs.

'To me Malgorzata Szejnert embodies the image of Poland...

She has grace, a gentle tone, and a serene gaze.' -Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and author of Secondhand Time

'Making extensive use of primary documents, including letters written by immigrants to family in the old country, the author captures the mingled hope and fear experienced as people entered the massive main building ... Szejnert does not scant the fear of degraded, backward people unfit to join into American life that culminated in the 1924 law that basically slammed the door on Italian and Jewish immigration. But her emphasis is on the immigrants' fortitude and resilience and the empathetic assistance of Ellis Island personnel - many themselves immigrants ... Warmly human and extremely moving - a welcome addition to the Ellis Island literature.' STARRED REVIEW -Kirkus Reviews

'With fine-grained details and fluid writing, Szejnert humanises the immigrant experience in late 19th- and early 20th-century America.' -Publishers Weekly

By: Malgorzata Szejnert
Imprint: Scribe Publications
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 162mm, Spine: 36mm
Weight: 632g
ISBN: 9781925849035
ISBN 10: 1925849031
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 01 September 2020
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

For forty years, Malgorzata Szejnert (b. 1936) has been one of Poland's most important nonfiction writers and editors, shaping a generation of Polish literary reportage. She began writing about challenging social issues in the 1970s, and was an active member of the opposition during the Solidarity period. After the fall of Communism, she co-founded Poland's leading daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and led its reportage division for 15 years. Since retiring, she has devoted herself entirely to book writing. Her topics range from Poland to America to Zanzibar, always with a warm, personal focus, allowing marginalised people speak for themselves through her work.

LATEST DISCOUNTS & SALES: PROMOTIONS

Ellis Island

A people's history

Malgorzata Szejnert

$49.99

Hardback

See Also

Contact Abbeys

Contact Galaxy

Contact Language

Contact Us

About ABBEY'S