Encyclopedia of American Immigration Review

Thursday, February 22, 2018 7:21:10 PM
“This multivolume set edited by Bankston (sociology, Tulane Univ.) contains 533 alphabetically arranged entries and is aimed primarily at college and secondary-school students. Mostly written by academics, the articles cover a wide range of topics, such as child immigrants, deportation, employment, Holocaust, loyalty oaths, name changing, and numerous other topics. In addition, the work features individual entries on every state, several cities, and 65 ethnic and immigrant groups. The entries range in length from a few paragraphs to much longer treatments, e.g., the history of U.S. immigration and religion among immigrants. Especially noteworthy is the helpful annotated bibliography that each entry contains. Black-and-white photographs interspersed throughout enhance the text. The volumes conclude with both an annotated general bibliography and filmography, a glossary, a time line, and primary documents, further heightening its value…recommended for public and academic libraries.”
-Library Journal

“The set is designed “to answer all questions about immigration in American history that students are likely to ask,” including reasons for leaving other homelands, immigration patterns and policies, and discrimination against and contributions of various groups. As with Salem’s other works, entries often provide the event, date, location, significance, and then an explanation…Of 533 entries, about one-third are overview essays of around five to six pages…Specific national and ethnic groups…account for 65 articles, and there are separate articles one every U.S. state and 11 cities. There are 45 articles on specific laws, 54 on historic events and eras, 45 on individuals, and 45 on Supreme Court Cases.

…A time line, filmography, glossary, lengthy bibliography, and indexes by court cases, laws, people, and subjects are all found at the end...”
-Booklist

“The Encyclopedia of American Immigration captures the broad flow of immigrants into the United States by means of some 533 alphabetically arranged articles contributed by more than 200 scholars. Articles cover topics related to immigration (e.g., health, issues food, art), ethnic and national immigration groups including countries of origin, historical events, historical trends in all U.S. states, government issues (e.g., agencies, policies, laws, rulings, treaties), and biographies of outstanding immigrants. Each article is preceded by a brief summary and is followed by a list of suggested readings as well as cross-references to other related articles. Illustrations, sidebars, charts, and maps support points made in the text. Each of the three volumes contains a complete list of contents for all volumes. The third volume is supplemented by useful appendixes: a biographical directory of notable immigrants, U.S. Supreme Court rulings on immigration, federal government agencies and commissions, federal laws related to immigration, filmography, bibliography of general works on immigration, glossary, and a timeline of U.S. immigration history. Indexes include articles by category, court cases, laws and treaties, personage, and subject. The articles are clearly written and topics of interest can be easily located. While the encyclopedia was prepared largely for use by students, both high school and college, scholars and general readers will find the volumes of great interest.”
-ARBA

“Gr 9 Up–Providing both ready-reference features and in-depth information, these 533 articles discuss ethnic groups, historical events and eras, the lives and work of prominent immigrants, the 50 states in reference to the set’s topic, and the most diverse U.S. cities. Overviews represent one-third of the articles; they are often augmented by definitions, brief significance summaries, black-and-white photographs, and data. Further-reading suggestions are always provided and cross-references noted. The seven appendixes will lighten students’ and educators’ workloads. They include a listing of relevant U.S. Supreme Court rulings, a time line of U.S. immigration history, and a filmography comprised of suprisingly diverse entries. The variety of indexes, which list individuals, court cases, laws and treaties, and more, will facilitate the investigation of even the broadest topics... A solid starting point for projects on any aspect of American immigration.”
-School Library Journal