Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

American History: Twentieth-Century Immigration to the United States. By Stuart A. Kallen. Detroit, Mich.: Lucent Books Gale, 2007. 1 vol. 104 p. $25.96. ISBN 10: 1-59018-186-7; 13: 978-1-59018-186-7.

With immigration a hot topic at this time, an introduction to the background from the 20^th century will appeal to the reader in need of a fast study. A two-page timeline at the beginning uses 1875 and the invention of the telephone to 2003 when the U.S. declared war on Iraq as well as the founding of the American Red Cross and the hostages held in Iran in 1979-80 to place this century into the students’ frame of reference. Chapter titles include "Modern Immigration: Benefit or Burden," "The Ellis Island Years," "Closing the Doors," "Years of Isolation," "Opening the Doors," and "Battles on the Border." A one-page glossary and one-page bibliography end the volume. Inset boxes offer additional information. Both color and black and white photographs illustrate the text. This brief introduction should encourage additional study.