From the Other Side: Women, Gender, and Immigrant Life in the U.S., 1820 1990

Not by any means the most scintillating read out there, Donna Gabaccia's work is nevertheless indispensable to anyone with more than a passing interest in US history, immigration to the US or even just gender & women's studies. Admirably broad in scope, Gabaccia is a study of all major groups of women who came "from the other side" to these shores between the years of 1820 and 1990. It's an immense undertaking, & one that Gabaccia does not shy away from, launching into her information packed sparse prose with no nonsense & barreling through until she reaches her goal. Clear, concise & well informed, Gabaccia is able to paint a vivid picture of women from all quadrants of the world, trace them to the US, and then delineate the sociological forces which act on them with great power, and also those that will act on their children. Such is the result of her truly prodigious & stellar research, & it allows for extrapolation into a more theoretical sociological perspective which heightens the importance of her text, making the historical facts at her fingertips relevant today as knowledge that is more than just interesting, but ultimately limited in applicable value. No, Gabaccia's stories have very much to say to us, & these avenues are fully explored by her, & backed up by research. The only fault I find, & this is a mere cavil, is that Gabaccia also draws surprising parallels between the children of immigrants & the women of native racial minority groups within the US that are interesting, yet, I find, not entirely substantiated by her otherwise spotless research. Other than that, though, she presents an excellent work which provides much needed scholarly exploration of a subject long neglected. No mean feat, that, but a very fine thing, indeed.

Given the photos of only white women and children on the cover and its brief chapter titles, I was worried that this would be some revery about the author's own immigrant background, at the total exclusion of modern female immigrants of color. I am pleased to see that I am wrong. In this book, Gabaccia shares her deep knowledge of American immigration with the world. She carefully analyzes how immigration did and does affect women. This is a wonderful intersectional contribution to women's studies and immigrant history. The author does say that she will compare immigrant women to their male immigrant husbands and peers and to native-born women; she barely meets this goal. However, she does a great job in comparing the lives of immigrant women with native-born minority women and working-class native-born women. In fact, what impresses me most about this book is how inclusive she is of people of color. She neither forgets that not all blacks in America are the descendants of slaves nor that many Chinese and Japanese individuals moved here voluntarily many decades ago. Additionally, she says much about Jewish immigration and this should please Judaic studies enthusiasts. This book is steeped in labor theory, and may frustrate some non-academic readers. Eventually, Gabaccia does come around to discussing domestic dynamics and community activism. The book is small in page length, but it is full of so much valuable information that it will take some time to read. I recommend this book to many readers wholeheartedly!