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Ellis Island

By: Małgorzata Szejnert, Sean Gasper Bye - translator
Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
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Publisher's summary

From Annie Moore, the Irishwoman who was the first to be processed there, to Arne Peterssen, the Norwegian who was the last to be taken away from the island in 1954, Ellis Island weaves together the personal experiences of forgotten individuals with those who live on in history: Fiorello La Guardia, Lee Iacocca, and other American leaders whose paths led them to the island for various reasons.

Award-winning journalist Małgorzata Szejnert draws on unpublished testimonies, memoirs, archival photographs, and correspondence from many internees and immigrants. But also brought to life are the Ellis Island employees: the doctors, nurses, commissioners, interpreters, social care workers, and even chaperones who controlled the fates of these emigres - often basing their decisions on pseudoscientific ideas about race, gender, and disability. Sometimes families were broken up, and new arrivals were detained and quarantined for days, weeks, or even months.

All told, the island compound spent longer as an internment camp than as a migration way-point - in addition to filling other roles through the years, including that of rescue station in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Now brought back to life by a master storyteller, this is a story of a place and its people, steeped in politics and history, that reshaped the United States.

©2009 Malgorzata Szejnert; English translation copyright 2020 by Sean Gasper Bye (P)2021 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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What listeners say about Ellis Island

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Excellent narration of various languages

I liked the very complete history, which told me much more than when I visited the island last year. Now I want to go back again!

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Imminently boring

Too many facts, timeline disjointed and characters not expanded. Narrator: good voice but some English words oddly pronounced

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