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Rating: 
Summary: a concise history of lebanese immigration to the U.S.A.
Review: Elsa Harik provides a concise history of the lebanese immigration to the U.S.A. beginning in Lebanon. She relates the background of life in Lebanon and those factors which led to emmigration abroad. Many if not all of these factors were commmon to immigration from European,Far Eastern, and other Mideastern countries.
Rating:
Summary: The unique story of Lebanese immigration to the U.S.
Review: The story of Arab immigration to the United States is rarely touched upon in American history textbooks, which is why this volume in the In America series by Elsa Marston Harik fills a void. The Lebanese were the first significant Arab group to immigrate to the United States, and in "The Labenese in America" Harik shows that their experience is not all that different from other ethnic groups. When life in the mountains of Lebanon became hard in the early years of the 20th century many Lebanese left their villages to seek their fortunes in America. Harik begins by talking about the history of Lebanon from ancient times to today and then looks at the reasons why the first immigrants came to America, intending only to stay for a while before returning home. After explaining who were those first immigrants Harik covers the new lives they made in their new home and deal with the fact that for most of the last century Lebanon was part of Syria and the problems caused by Arabic writing presented to immigration officials (e.g., the name Khouri can be spelled as Khoury, Khuri, Couri, Koory, and Corey). Having heard various stories of the strange transformations wrought by immigration officers on the names of arriving immigrants this is old news to me, but it may well open the eyes of a few young readers. There is also a chapter devoted entirely to Lebanese women in America before providing a look at some Lebanese Americans of note in the fields of government (e.g., Philip Habib, Ralph Nader), arts and entertainment (e.g., Kahil Gibran, Danny Thomas, Jamie Farr), and sports (e.g., Doug Flutie). The final chapters are devoted to the links that exist between Lebanese Americans and the old country as well as the future of the Lebanese in America. For young readers of Lebanese descent this book provides a clear picture of the story of how their ancestors came to the United States, and since this is one of the very volumes available to young readers on the particular topic of immigration from Lebanon hopefully they will find their way to it.
Rating:
Summary: The unique story of Lebanese immigration to the U.S.
Review: The story of Arab immigration to the United States is rarely touched upon in American history textbooks, which is why this volume in the In America series by Elsa Marston Harik fills a void. The Lebanese were the first significant Arab group to immigrate to the United States, and in "The Labenese in America" Harik shows that their experience is not all that different from other ethnic groups. When life in the mountains of Lebanon became hard in the early years of the 20th century many Lebanese left their villages to seek their fortunes in America. Harik begins by talking about the history of Lebanon from ancient times to today and then looks at the reasons why the first immigrants came to America, intending only to stay for a while before returning home. After explaining who were those first immigrants Harik covers the new lives they made in their new home and deal with the fact that for most of the last century Lebanon was part of Syria and the problems caused by Arabic writing presented to immigration officials (e.g., the name Khouri can be spelled as Khoury, Khuri, Couri, Koory, and Corey). Having heard various stories of the strange transformations wrought by immigration officers on the names of arriving immigrants this is old news to me, but it may well open the eyes of a few young readers. There is also a chapter devoted entirely to Lebanese women in America before providing a look at some Lebanese Americans of note in the fields of government (e.g., Philip Habib, Ralph Nader), arts and entertainment (e.g., Kahil Gibran, Danny Thomas, Jamie Farr), and sports (e.g., Doug Flutie). The final chapters are devoted to the links that exist between Lebanese Americans and the old country as well as the future of the Lebanese in America. For young readers of Lebanese descent this book provides a clear picture of the story of how their ancestors came to the United States, and since this is one of the very volumes available to young readers on the particular topic of immigration from Lebanon hopefully they will find their way to it.
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