Muddy Cup: A Dominican Family Comes of Age in a New America

Rating:
Summary: An engrossing and important story
Review: Barbara Fischkin tells a universal story in her chronicle of the Almonte family's coming to America, the painful choices and formidable obstacles they face, their setbacks and successes as they leave behind their beloved Dominican Republic. Muddy Cup is full of rich detail, compassion, and a narrative focus that makes it read like a novel. Treating a little-covered topic with depth and insight, this is the way journalism should be done. There are more than one million Dominicans living in the United States, and Fischkin does a wonderful job of giving faces and names to a group of people who are increasingly visible and vocal in this country. Most important, she shows how similar their hopes and dreams are to those of the many immigrant groups who made America.

Rating:
Summary: Best book on modern immigration
Review: This is the story of everyman, the struggle of stepping off into uncharted universe to make a better life. As the US continues to attract record numbers of immigrants, this book provides a seamless look at just who these people are, the conditions they left behind and their expectations for the future. It also reminds us that the experiences of today's immigrants are not unique, that they are a mirror for all of us.