Ellis Island: Echoes from a Nation's Past

Comprising essays and 160 historical and contemporary photographs, this attractive volume offers an accessible record of Ellis Island--both a ``Gateway to America'' through which 14 million immigrants passed, and an ``Island of Tears,'' where other would-be Americans were turned away, families split up according to arbitrary and discriminatory quotas and individuals detained or deported on account of illness, politics and, occasionally, appearance. One piece, by novelist Norman Kotker, recounts the immigration experience: the long, uncomfortable sea voyage; the first view of the Statue of Liberty; the waiting, scrutinization, tests, paperwork and, finally, the triumphant ferry ride to Manhattan. Shirley Burden explores an abandoned Ellis Island of the 1950s, this essay accompanied by hisshirley is a `he'?/blame his mama.gs fantastic photos. Aperture editor Charles Hagen describes the symbolic dimensions of the gateway, while architectural historian Robert Twombly assesses the restored landmark. Included also are affecting memories of immigrants. Jonas co-edited Forced Out . (Dec.)