audiobook The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War by David Laskin in History

Review

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking.By TralfamidorianThe author follows the lives of 12 men of varied backgrounds and ethnicities who immigrated to the United States and who later were drafted or enlisted into military service during World War I. The irony was that many of the men immigrated to avoid conscription in their countries of origin. He details the reasons why they came; the difficulties and prejudices they faced and the means by which they persevered. After unimaginable horrors experienced in the Great War; the survivors returned to be exemplary citizens. Poignant!21 of 21 people found the following review helpful. Vivid Portraits of Immigrants in US Military in the Great WarBy Mary WhisnerIn the late 19th and early 20th century; millions of immigrants came to America; fleeing poverty; pogroms; and the draft. When the U.S. entered World War I; thousands of immigrant men enlisted or were drafted to serve in the military; returning to Europe in similar ocean liners to the ones that had brought them. David Laskin sees this military service as a critical step in the Americanization of the immigrants -- even though they returned to often virulent xenophobia during the Red Scare.As he did in _The Children's Blizzard_; Laskin makes vivid a sweeping story by focusing on a small number of individuals (in this case; 12 men). He begins with the immigrants' lives in Europe -- the Italian boy in a rocky farm; the Norwegian man who left the farm to work on a fishing boat; the Jewish scrap hauler in the Russian pale. And then he follows them on their journeys to America in the fetid barracks of steerage. On they go to their new homes: the copper mines in Butte; a blanket factory in New England; the Lower East Side. A couple of them enlisted long before World War I; one was part of Pershing's force chasing Pancho Villa (earlier he'd been a mercenary selling arms to Pancho Villa).And then there's the military. The transition from civilian life was difficult. How could the Army train a crowd of recruits who spoke dozens of languages and were often malnourished and in terrible shape? How could the immigrants get past the ethnic slurs flung at them by the native-born soldiers? And what sort of soldiers would these immigrants make?Eventually; they shipped out; fully trained or not; and Laskin takes us to the trenches and the shattered forests of the Great War. Using the immigrants' own words -- from letters home; diaries; and; in a couple of cases; interviews (he met one veteran who was 107!) -- and accounts from others who were in the same battles; he gives detailed accounts of the horrors and the heroism of war.This isn't a war book just for military history buffs. Recommended for those interested in the immigrant experience and U.S. history generally.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. David Laskin has written another great book that talks about my favorite subject-genealogy and how ...By CustomerDavid Laskin has written another great book that talks about my favorite subject-genealogy and how our country was built with the hard work of immigrants-our grandparents and in some cases our parents. I truly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about their past and their present lives.