Immigrant Voices Series

A compelling collection of essays providing a comprehensive vision of immigration to the United States in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries—the indispensable companion to Immigrant Voices.

Filled with moving narratives by authors from around the world, Immigrant Voices: Volume II delivers a global and intimate look at the challenges modern immigrants confront. Their stories, told with pride, humor, trepidation, candor, and a touch of homesickness, offer rarely glimpsed perspectives on the difficult but ultimately rewarding quest to become an American.

From the humorous experiences of Firoozeh Dumas, author of Funny in Farsi, to the poignant struggles of Oksana Marafioti, author of American Gypsy, this collection travels from Burundi to Afghanistan, Egypt to Havana, and Cambodia to Puerto Rico, to present incredible contemporary portraits of immigrants and illustrate that America is, and always will remain, a fresh and ever-changing melting pot.

Featuring Firsthand Accounts by
André Aciman, Tamim Ansary, H.B. Cavalcanti, Firoozeh Dumas, Gustavo Pérez Firmat, Reyna Grande, Le Ly Hayslip, Aleksandar Hemon, Rose Ihedigbo, Oksana Marafioti, Anchee Min, Shoba Narayan, Elizabeth Nunez, Guillermo Reyes, Marcus Samuelsson, Katarina Tepesh, Gilbert Tuhabonye, Loung Ung, Kao Kalia Yang

With narratives from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, this anthology provides a historical and uniquely personal perspective on the immigrant experience and illuminates the often difficult dream of becoming an American citizen.

From Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur’s defining statement of Americanism to Harlem Renaissance figure Claude McKay’s observations on race, here are both rousing and heartbreaking impressions of those who departed from their homlands in the hopes of making a new life. Reconciling their old traditions with their new land, these immigrants faced such adversity as assimilation, prejudice, poverty, homesickness, and identity.

Filled with inspiring stories of immigrants who traveled from Mexico, India, China, Korea, Syria, and beyond, Immigrant Voices reveals—in their own words—how these newcomers were able to persevere and make their mark on the “New World.”