The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization

Few writers are able to successfully weave together storytelling and analysis. Sen and Mamdouh, tell Mamdouh's story and the story of the Restaurant Opportunities Center, placing it in the context of the global immigration debate. They demonstrate poignantly and systematically the forces that shape migration and point a way forward away from the rhetoric and toward a more just reality across borders.

I've read a lot of books on immigration policy and history and finally - someone is explaining what should be out there front and center, the thing that shows that Lou Dobbs is as ignorant as he is hateful - it's the global story of migration. Rinku Sen and Fekkak Mamdouh use story and history, memories and data to explain the conditions that drive migration and the U.S.'s role in creating them. Migrants are whole people in this book, with dreams and pasts and personalities, not just a source of cheap labor that the u.s. born must "tolerate" if we want our cable installed or victims whose plight is to be lamented. And for anyone who wants to learn about the racial heirarchy of the restaurant industry, or lessons in organizing strategies and the challenges of creating cooperatives, a centerpiece of the book the evolution of ROC (Restaurant Opportunities Center) in the aftermath of 9/11. Not since Mai Ngai's Impossible Subjects has there been such an important book for anyone who wants to get real about about why the question of immigration will never be understood until the u.s. deals with its structural racism and quest for empire. And Sen's background as an organizer and journalist make this a work that has the potential for mass readership. It's time to flip the script, and the Accidental American does it.

Sen and Mamdouh have successfully utilized this extremely personal story to illustrate the larger plight of the modern day immigrant. In a country where we are all either immigrants or decedents of immigrants - (unless of course you happen to be 100% Native American) where we point to the Statue of Liberty and proudly recite the Lazarus poem - "Give me your tired, your hungry your huddled masses yearning to be free" - we seem to have lost our way. The newspapers, the hate mongers and the politicians often play to individual insecurities when they cry out about our need to secure our boarders and to protect our country from foreigners. The statistics are always thrown at us 6 million, 10 million, 20 million illegal immigrants - we have to do something - they rant. Sen and Mamdouh put a face on these numbers, they tell a touching story of the reality of the effect of our immigration policy or non policy and what it has done to our American spirit. Extremely moving and well written. Bravo - a must read for all.

If you've ever wondered about the life story of the guy who drives you to the airport or serves you a meal in a restaurant, then you want to read this book. Fekkak Mamdouh's life is both typical and extraordinary, from his childhood in Morocco to his struggle for the rights of all restaurant workers. It is a very engaging way to learn more about immigration policy. Whatever your views on immigration are, Mamdouh's story reminds us of the humanity of all people.

To say that this book was a pleasant surprise is like saying that water in a desert oasis is an unnecessary extravagance. Since biographies and pure mind-candy fare take up most of my leisure reading, I was ready for a jargon filled sleeper. Instead Sen's The Accidental American took me on a gripping journey through our nation's often-tragic labor and immigration woes. All of this and more is wrapped in Mamdouh's own unexpected, some would say accidental, American experience. Sen connects the dots between the real life experiences of people surviving wars abroad and discrimination in the US, to the rules of game as they are dictated by Beltway politics and societal stereotypes. In this book, the context of our nation's struggles is more complicated than the pre and post 911 analysis given on talking-head shows. We are shown a rare well-intended DC lobbyist, who is forced to deal with the in-your-face racism of mainstream operatives. New York City's restaurant culture of backroom exploitation and front of the house indulgence is skillfully set in the realm of historical labor struggles and dehumanizing immigration policy. And not to be content with just laying bare our nation's problems, Sen does something that too many so-called progressives miss entirely. She offers tangible, sensible solutions. Tackling race, politics, policy and the lives of real people in a way that is compelling and intelligent is quite a feat. Sen does this and more. The Accidental American is indeed worth the read.