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Organized chronologically, this set covers the history of migration to the U.S. from the early 1600s to the present day. Dozens of cultural groups are analyzed, ranging alphabetically from African Americans (and their involuntary immigration) to West Indians. However, the editor has intentionally shunned a straight alphabetic arrangement so that users can more easily compare and contrast the experiences of different immigrant groups in the same time periods. The 163 entries, written by various scholars, are actually extensive essays devoted to various immigrant cultures within three time periods: approximately, 1600-1870, 1870-1940, and 1940 to the present. The obvious historical markers here are the Civil War and WWII. Essays focus on a particular immigrant group (such as Filipinos, Irish Catholics, Mexicans, Russians, Slovaks) and typically cover topics like acculturation, community formation, employment, and settlement patterns. They average 10 pages in length, and each ends with its own bibliography. Many include various charts and tables, usually depicting population or country-of-origin statistics. Each volume conveniently contains both a table of contents and an index to the entire set. The fourth volume is entirely devoted to Issues in U.S. Immigration, such as laws, policies, illegal immigration, indigenous peoples, and nativism. The essays in this volume are longer and tend to give a more longitudinal perspective. This set strives to go beyond the mere historical narrative of foreigners resettling in America and blends in economic, political, legal, and sociological perspectives on immigrant adaptation as well. Issues such as the pressure to speak only English or to engage in certain kinds of employment are shown as being more specific to a time period of American history than to a particular group of immigrants or the places they chose to settle. This is an interesting and thoughtful resource but is not a traditional, quick-look-up reference source. Suitable for academic libraries.--Tosko, Michael Copyright 2010 Booklist

School Library Journal
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Gr 9 Up-This collection of 163 articles is arranged in chronological order. It offers more than one essay per group, considering that immigrants from various parts of the world arrived in separate waves, and are still arriving. Part One focuses on those groups that arrived from the 1600s to 1870 and includes pieces on African, Chinese, and European arrivals. The other two parts cover 1870-1940 and 1940 to the present. The set is quite wide-ranging; it offers an entire article on ethnic Germans from Russia and one on Cape Verdeans, for example. Topics within each article might focus on why the group arrived as well as how it adapted, and what remnants of the original culture survive. The text is approachable, and each essay is roughly 10 pages in length, concluding with an individual bibliography. Readers will find plenty of material here for research, but casual browsers will also be engaged. The set is anchored by a collection of essays on general topics in U.S. immigration, including racial, economic, and political issues. A solid addition to any collection supporting a substantial history or political science curriculum.-Carol Fazioli, Barth Elementary School, Pottstown, PA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.