This sweeping history of New York’s millions of immigrants, both famous and forgotten, is “told brilliantly [and] unforgettably” (The Boston Globe). Written by an acclaimed historian and including maps and photos, this is the story of the peoples who have come to New York for four centuries: an American story of millions of immigrants, hundreds of languages, and one great city. Growing from Peter Minuit’s tiny settlement of 1626 to a clamorous metropolis with more than three million immigrants today, the city has always been a magnet for transplants from around the globe. City of Dreams is the long-overdue, inspiring, and defining account of the young man from the Caribbean who relocated to New York and became a founding father; Russian-born Emma Goldman, who condoned the murder of American industrialists as a means of aiding downtrodden workers; Dominican immigrant Oscar de la Renta, who dressed first ladies from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama; and so many more. Over ten years in the making, Tyler Anbinder’s story is one of innovators and artists, revolutionaries and rioters, staggering deprivation and soaring triumphs. In so many ways, today’s immigrants are just like those who came to America in centuries past—and their stories have never before been told with such breadth of scope, lavish research, and resounding spirit. “Anbinder is a master at taking a history with which many readers will be familiar—tenement houses, temperance societies, slums—and making it new, strange, and heartbreakingly vivid. The stories of individuals, including those of the entrepreneurial Steinway brothers and the tragic poet Pasquale D’Angelo, are undeniably compelling, but it’s Anbinder’s stunning image of New York as a true city of immigrants that captures the imagination.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This absorbing anthology features in-depth portraits of diverse ethnic populations, revealing the surprising new realities of immigrant life in twenty-first-century New York City. Contributors show how nearly fifty years of massive inflows have transformed New York City's economic and cultural life and how the city has changed the lives of immigrant newcomers. Nancy Foner's introduction describes New York's role as a special gateway to America. Subsequent essays focus on the Chinese, Dominicans, Jamaicans, Koreans, Liberians, Mexicans, and Jews from the former Soviet Union now present in the city and fueling its population growth. They discuss both the large numbers of undocumented Mexicans living in legal limbo and the new, flourishing community organizations offering them opportunities for advancement. They recount the experiences of Liberians fleeing a war torn country and their creation of a vibrant neighborhood on Staten Island's North Shore. Through engaging, empathetic portraits, contributors consider changing Korean-owned businesses and Chinese Americans' increased representation in New York City politics, among other achievements and social and cultural challenges. A concluding chapter follows the prospects of the U.S.-born children of immigrants as they make their way in New York City.

"A Lower East Side Tenement Museum book."

The Chinese immigrant experience of children as it relates to the community, the school, bilingual education, bicultural conflict, after-school hours, gangs, peer groups and the family.

"In the history of New York City, few events loom larger than the wave of immigration at the turn of the twentieth century. Today a similar influx is once again transforming the city. More than one in three New Yorkers are now immigrants. From Ellis Island to JFK is the first in-depth study that compares these two huge social changes." "Nancy Foner offers a critical reassessment of the myths that have grown up around the earlier Jewish and Italian immigration - myths that deeply color how today's Asian, Latin American, and Caribbean arrivals are seen. Issue by issue, she reveals the often surprising realities of both immigrations." "Drawing on a wealth of historical and contemporary research, Foner, in a lively and entertaining style, opens a new chapter in the study of immigration - and in the story of the nation's gateway city."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Unique among historical guides to New York City, this book covers separate waves of immigration from colonial times to the mid-nineteenth-century Irish Potato Famine, from Ellis Island—which, between 1892 and 1954, processed some twelve million newcomers—to the present day, and it ties this history to various sites in the city. Timeline Books These one-of-a-kind guides allow readers to move through time as never before, bringing them face to face with the people and events behind some of America’s most important historical landmarks and locations. No other guidebooks draw so much on the first-hand accounts of those involved in the historic events that transpired in the areas covered—making readers feel as if they are experiencing living history. Each book features: * Two popout® maps—a historical map showing the area as it once was; and a modern map marking every stop on the tour and place mentioned in the text. * Additional color maps and up to 40-60 photos, both historical and modern * An introduction by an expert that sets the area in historical context * A timeline showing key historical events * A detailed walking tour of the present-day site, interspersed with first-hand accounts interspersed in the text or included as sidebars * Concise and colorful biographies of key historical figures * Where to stay and eat, and places to visit nearby Also available in the series: Antietam (978-0-7627-5328-4; 9/2009) Arlington National Cemetery (978-0-7627-5329-1; 9/2009) Fredericksburg (978-0-7627-5330-7; 1/2010) Gettysburg (978-0-7627-5331-4; 9/2009) Vicksburg (978-0-7627-5332-1; 1/2010) Washington, D.C. (978-0-7627-5333-8; 9/2009)

Explores the immigrant's experiences and their pilgrimage of hope.