Product Description

Presents first-hand accounts from the last surviving immigrants.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #293594 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From Kirkus Reviews
Coan takes readers on an emotional tour of Ellis Island with this elaborate, readable collection of interviews. As he makes clear, from 1892 to 1924, Ellis Island was truly the ``golden door'' to America; later, quotas and legislation made US citizenship much more difficult to obtain. The voices captured in first-person narrations--bemused, feisty, poignant--express enthusiasm for their new country, but most are unafraid to look back. The book is divided into the geographical regions from which the interviewees emigrated: the United Kingdom, Northern, Eastern, and Western Europe, Scandinavia, and the Middle East. Each interview comes with an introduction revealing where the speaker settled, thus connecting the old stories to the present. A few famous subjects make appearances among the 130+ men and women included: Bob Hope explains how his first sight of the Statue of Liberty is linked to his theme song (``Thanks for the Memories'') and Otto Preminger is frank about his prospects had his film career succeeded in Germany--he would not have been able to escape Hitler. With so many stories, and so many voices, this is a fine collection of primary-source materials. (index, appendix, b&w photos, not seen) (Nonfiction. 10-14) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
To tell their stories, Peter Morton Coan lets the immigrants speak for themselves...All their stories are compelling because they are true, and all are important because they tell our collective American story -- Continental Airlines Magazine, January, 1998

Well presented and expectedly poignant -- Publishers Weekly, October 6, 1997

About the Author
Peter Coan is a biographer and writer. He lives in New York and ends his book with a plea to help find his biological mother, and Ellis Island immigrant of the inter-war years.

Customer Reviews

A Historical Treasure Trove
The result of diligent research, intensive interviewing and careful editing, the "Ellis Island Interviews - In Their Own Words" is a historical treasure trove. In the tradition of Studs Turkel, editor Peter Morton Coan has compiled dozens of interviews depicting the Ellis Island immigration experience. In their own words, immigrants from all walks of life relate the stories of their passage, often providing information about the places they came from, what their trip to the United States was like, why the came, and where they went after leaving Ellis Island. Each story is different of course, but each has a common goal: the dream of a better life in America. Coan also includes interviews with Ellis Island employees and provides background information on U.S. immigration policies and Ellis Island operations to help orient the reader.

Coan's excellent research and editing of the interviews has yielded an invaluable resource of our country's immigration history. The stories are fascinating, and the guts and determination possessed by many of the immigrants are beyond admirable. Reading the "Ellis Island Interviews" is a touching and humbling experience - it will help you to better appreciate what those who came before you have endured. Ellis Island ceased to be an INS port in 1954, and almost all of those who came to the U.S. through Ellis Island are now very advanced in age - we have Coan to thank for preserving their stories for generations to come.

Truestories from immigrants are treasures for posterity
I picked this book up on a whim at the library and couldn't put it down. Since my ancestors passed through Ellis Island to come to America, this subject fascinated me. The stories in this book are memorable and give one the feeling of hope that America once symbolized for so many people looking for a better life. It doesn't paint a perfect picture of immigration, it tells the truth by using the immigrants own life stories. Well worth the read!

Ellis Island Interviews : In Their Own Words.
This is an incredible book for anyone interested in how their ancestors immigrated to America. It gives honest first hand accounts of people that are currently in their 80's - 100's. I would recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about their roots.