Out of This Furnace

I was forced to read this book for a college class... but after a chapter or two, I was voraciously reading it, more than willingly! This book effected me so deeply with its complex, engaging, and devastating portrayal of an immigrant family that spans over several generations. Nearly every person who calls themself an American will find interest in this amazing book, because all our ancestors came from somewhere else - this book will give you a glimpse into the hard work, heart ache, and life that your forefathers endured. Without a doubt one of the top 5 best books i have ever read.

This is an amazing and moving novel, especially for those of us of the same ethnic background. My family discovered this book in my grandfather's collection following his death. We all read it and were very moved by it, our grandparents taught us the traditions of the Slovaks throughout our childhood. Being Slovak and all that went with it was a source of great pride for them that they instilled in us. As I read the book I was able to walk through the streets in my mind along with the author. Never before this book did I feel such pride in my family, and how they wokred lived and suffered to give their children and grandchildren a better life. I believe this book to be a MUST READ for anyone interested in the plight of the immigrant.

I read this book in a college class and found my own family history flying off the pages. My grandfather was a steel mill worker (before the fall) and my grandmother was a maid for a wealthy family (and named her son after their child). They wore the stories told in this book on their faces, Thomas Bell told the story that their faces were too proud to tell. My last name is Michals now, not Mihal. My father is a doctor, not a steel worker. My grandmother and grandfather are both deceased, but they got their children "OUT OF THIS FURNACE"

From steerage passage across the Atlantic from his native Slovakia, we follow George Kracha to Braddock, Pennsylvania, and share the lives of three generations of his family in the Mon Valley. Bell's narration is direct and graceful and his characters breathe. An integral piece in the American mosaic is presented here. This book will be of especial interest to those of Central European descent or familiarity with steelworking or the Pittsburgh area, but far beyond that it is a moving statement about being human and becoming American.