Editorial Review

Part of the Spirit of America – Our Cultural Heritage series, these titles provide a simple, useful overview of each group’s immigrant history and lasting influence on American society. The series highlights diversity and also common themes, including leaving and finding home, working hard and coping with discrimination. There are now six books about European American immigrant groups, three about Asian American groups, one about Native Americans, and one about Mexican Americans. No other Latino groups are considered, and there are no books about African Americans, past or present. That seems a lot to leave out, but the publisher is planning more titles. One welcome addition to the immigration coverage is Arab Americans, which does a good job of discussing post-9/11 issues as well as the early immigration history and the contributions of contemporary academics, artists, and leaders. Each book includes lots of color and black-and-white photos, maps, charts, a time line, a glossary, and a brief bibliography.