The Soul of an Immigrant

[modest shelfwear, some age-toning to edges of text block, one-time owner's signature on front pastedown; the jacket has bits of paper loss at most corners, some staining across the bottom of the front panel]. "Here is the story of an Italian immigrant whom Uncle Sam has treated with the stupidity and misunderstanding, at times reaching incredible brutality, which characterize so much of what we do to immigrants; and who, nevertheless, of his own choice became an American and is proud of his citizenship. This is, perhaps, the most important sketch of the immigrant's relations with and adjustment to America since the days of Mary Antin: it is certainly the most interesting." (Quotes from two different review excerpts, quoted on the front jacket panel.) The author (1884-1964) begins this autobiography with an account of his childhood in Molfetta, in southern Italy. He went to sea at age 13, and came to the U.S. in 1902, settling in Boston. He describes his troubles finding work, learning English, and getting an education; eventually he became the administrator of a social service agency in Boston, which involved him deeply with the treatment and assimilation of immigrants, and in which capacity (as in this book) he was highly critical of the post-war hysteria about "radical aliens" which resulted in the infamous "Palmer Raids" of 1919/1920. In 1925 he earned the Ph.D. degree at the Brookings Graduate School of Economics and Government; he was appointed an assistant professor of sociology at UCLA in 1931, and remained there until he retired (as a full professor) in 1951.

Product Info

Publisher: The Macmillan Company

Year: 1924 (c.1921)

Type: Used

Binding: Hardcover

Seller Info

ReadInk

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Country: United States