PBS: Destination America

The book is fine and Im glad it was sent a bonus to my order. My grandfathers had come to America in 1889 and1890 so I was very interested in purchasing the book for many reason.What I didn't like was the CRAPPY shapethe book was in in.First, the plastic protectie cover was marked and unclean with a spot in the the middle. Secondly, I could notremove the price label on the back.I, certainly, appreciate your sending me this book, but, in this case, is was not worth the four dollars price.I would've preferred a more expensive copy, and one in excellent condition. I consider myself a good Amazon.com customer,but what you send was an insult.Al Lackner

loved it.

This is an excellent book with some omissions and deficiencies on the story of immigration to America in terms of the Four Freedoms expressed in an illustration by the famous American painter Norman Rockwell: "Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Oppression, Freedom From Want, and Freedom from Fear", to which a 5th dimension has been added, "Freedom to Create." With more than 500 photos and artworks, Destination America is a very informative, entertaining and comprehensive "family portrait" of the United States, where I have lived, on and off, for 50 years.Following the Introduction, the first section, Settling in America, tells the story of the First Americans and the settlement of America from the 1500s to the 1800s by the Spanish, the French, the English, the Dutch and Swedish settlers with stories of the Native Americans and the enslaved Africans. It is a moving chronicle that leads to the Thirteen Colonies, the Revolutionary War and closing the "Golden Door."The next four sections tell the story of immigrants from every corner of the world, including the Armenians under "Freedom from Fear." However, there are very few references to Turks or Turkish immigrants who started coming to America during the late 19th century and the early 20th century, which probably numbers around 300,000 today. Early comers were largely Ottoman citizens with different ethnic backgrounds and a few thousand Turks who first showed up, including those during the famous Chicago Worlds fair in 1890s, did not stay to become citizens. Most who came from the Ottoman lands are mentioned under "Muslims" (page 94) where immigration from the Islamic world is described as a fairly recent phenomenon in the United states, but with major cultural impact, perhaps numbering over 7 million. The reason given for the immigration from Syria and Lebanon, then parts of the Ottoman Empire, is young men seeking to avoid conscription into the Turkish Army.The Armenians have been given a special treatment with 2 pages presenting a brief history followed by what is referred to as "The Horrors of 1915", without mentioning the many Armenian uprisings in eastern Anatolia, some of which were probably organized by Armenians already settled in the United States long before the conflict started. The article begins with the following statement: "Many historians consider the fate of the Armenians during World war I to be the first European genocide of the 20th century. While the Turkish persecution of the Armenians remains controversial it led to an influx of up to 100,000 Armenians to America. Today, about half of the nation's million or so Armenian-Americans live in Califrnia." The book needs to be revised referring to the death of both the Armenians and the Turks, not to a myhtical genocide.The last section "Freedom to Create" includes Eli Kazan under "Theater", referring to him as a Greek-American born in Turkey. The short biography of Kazan states that he won fame directing plays by Arthur Miller (such as The Death of a Salesman) and Tennessee Williams and acclaimed films such as "On the Waterfront", but Kazan's reputation among some of his peers was tarnished because he named names to the House Committee on Un-American activities during its hearing on communism in Hollywood in the early 1950s, which did not prevent him from receiving an Honorary Oscar for Lifetime achievement in 1999. He also wrote many books, including "The Anatolian", his life story. But the book does not mention Ahmet Ertegun, the legendary "Music man" who made many musicians famous, including Ray Charles, and died last year and was buried in Uskudar, Istanbul.In March 2006, PBS aired a documentary on the Armenian genocide, but refused the showing of another documentary, "The Armenian Revolt", which would expose the one sided treatment of the Armenian issue in "Destination America." PBS, supposedly created for the good of public, is doing a disservice to the Turkish-Americans and the general public by disseminating false information, the way the Armenian issue is presented in this book being an example. What a shame.The book also has a wealth of information on the immigration and [...] .Yuksel OktayNew Jersey

Informative and fun to read, Destination America is comprehensive in scope and beautifully illustrated. It would make a great gift for any history buff or student.

移民の視点から見たアメリカ史です。写真も豊富で飽きずに読めます。