Ellis Island

What a history lesson in this book. Reading how the island came to be and what people went through. It opened my eyes to how the Jews were even treated here in America. I can understand what my ancestors went through coming to America.

Malgorzata Szejnert has written a fascinating and insightful history of Ellis Island, the U.S.'s main immigration station from 1892 to 1954 which saw up to 12 million people coming through for immigration processing.

Szejnert starts right at the beginning, when the island was inhabited by Native Americans and it was one of three Oyster Islands, and ends with Ellis Island now as a museum and even covers the role it played during the September 11th attacks.

I visited the island and the museum in January 2019 and wished I had been able to dedicate more hours to the visit, so I was very happy to be able to read this extensive history in lieu of visiting the island again.
The author is very good in bringing a very personal and human dimension to the history which you won't probably get by visiting the museum alone though. Individuals' stories, both those of employees and of immigrants, are skilfully woven into the chain of world events and government policies affecting the every day running and character of the island. This creates a very narrative and engaging style of presenting the island's history which I very much appreciated. Some stories are truly heartbreaking. There's the one of the elderly father and young student son who have to make a split-second decision of whether they agree to be separated and the father returning to most likely an early death in the Russia of pogroms and institutionalised anti-semitism. There's also the odyssey of Nathan Cohen, a man who following a nervous breakdown is sent from country to country with none of them willing to accept him.

I did find the last third of the book lagged more, perhaps it got a little repetitive and certainly I found
the recounting of what happened after the island's immigration station both a little rushed and less interesting.

The photos dotted across the book were a great addition.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in migration and 19th and 20th century history.

Many thanks to Scribe UK and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

#EllisIsland #NetGalley

A heavily researched and insightful piece of non-fiction. Initially, I struggled with the style of the book, but really enjoyed it once I got into it. I learnt so many new things about American immigration and Ellis island itself, starting from when it was inhabited by the native Americans all the way up to modern day. I loved all of the excerpts of letters and the pictures which really brought individual stories to life. I was truly shocked by the treatment of the Jewish immigrants. Szejnert writes with humility and the book is well structured and flows with ease.

Thank you to the author, Scribe UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Our family immigrated to the US in the 1960s, but of course the era of Ellis Island was long past then. However, my own background immediately drew me to this book, and it did not disappoint. The author starts at the beginning of the island's history, when it belonged to Native Americans, and traces its path through various waves of immigration, two world wars and innumerable personal stories and remembrances, both of the staff working at the island, and the immigrants funneled through upon their arrival in the US. Although it took me a bit to get into the writer's rhythm at first, I loved the human dimension that the author brought into the history of the island, bolstered with the use of photos. The book ends with the recounting of the efforts to preserve Ellis Island as a national monument, which - for a nation of immigrants - is absolutely fitting. This book is a wonderful complement to the other literature about Ellis Island, and I highly recommend it.

Ellis is a fascinating read, well told. The author introduces us to the many interesting characters involved in the formation and running of Ellis Island. We are introduced to the various professionals chosen to process the many immigrants who passed through this famous institution. The book is liberally sprinkled with pictures of officials and migrants, We revisit certain people and the author has a gift of writing in a conversational tone which Carrie's us along. Interesting and alarming is the beginning of profiling the immigrants- mental health check and intelligence tests give us an insight as to how truly terrifying it must have been for these poor, frightened and vulnerable people. I would highly recommend this book, well written and extensively researched, it is accessible to students and interested readers. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this excellent book.