Other Immigrants

Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians represent three of every four immigrants who arrived in the United States after 1970. Yet despite their large numbers and long history of movement to America, non-Europeans are conspicuously absent from many books about immigration.In Other Immigrants, David M. Reimers offers the first comprehensive account of non-European immigration, chronicling the compelling and diverse stories of frequently overlooked Americans. Reimers traces the early history of Black, Hispanic, and Asian immigrants from the fifteenth century through World War II, when racial hostility led to the virtual exclusion of Asians and aggression towards Blacks and Hispanics. He then tells the story of post-1945 immigration, when these groups dominated the immigration statistics and began to reshape American society.The capstone to a lifetime of groundbreaking work on immigration, Reimers’s thoughtful history recognizes the ambiguity and subjectivity of race, noting that individuals often define themselves more complexly than census forms allow. However classified, record numbers of immigrants are streaming to the United States and creating the most diverse society in the world. Other Immigrants is a timely account of their arrival.

In Other Immigrants David Reimers cements his position as a leading interpreter of recent and contemporary immigration. He uses his profound understanding of the process to weave the stories of individual newcomers into the epic of immigration to America showing that these latter day 'huddled masses,' largely from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia, have much in common with their predecessors., I have always valued Reimers books on immigration as a reference source as well as for my students who need access to well-written and comprehensive accounts of immigration history and politics. Other Immigrants continues in this successful mold, providing a useful additional resource on the new immigration., Reimerss book has the merit of not leaving anyone out. Every nationality, religion, race, and ethnicity under the sun, or at least every group, community and set of beliefs which have become a presence in the great bouillabaisse of American life, gets a chapter, or a couple of pages, or a brief paragraph here., While some social scientists write panicky articles about the & changing face of American immigration in the 21st century, historian David Reimers prefers the long view. His measured, nuanced history of black, Latino, and Asian immigration to the United States explains how, when, and why these groups came or were brought here. Shunning the Eurocentric perspective on migration to the United States, Reimers substitutes this rich chronicle that explains the contributions migrants of color made and continue to make to America's economy, society, and culture. Scholars must have it on their bookshelves; policy makers ought to, as well., Reimers possesses a gift for weaving together chronological narrative and sociology.

David M. Reimers is emeritus professor of history at New York University. He is the author of Still in the Golden Door: The Third World Comes to America and The Immigrant Experience and co-author, with Leonard Dinnerstein and Roger Nichols, of Natives and Strangers: A Multicultural History of Americas.