Books about Assimilation from Amazon.com

From the internationally best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author, a superbly crafted new work of fiction: eight stories—longer and more emotionally complex than any she has yet written—that take us from Cambridge and Seattle to India and Thailand as they enter the lives of sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers, daughters and sons, friends and lovers.

In the stunning title story, Ruma, a young mother in a new city, is visited by her father, who carefully tends the earth of her garden, where he and his grandson form a special bond. But he’s harboring a secret from his daughter, a love affair he’s keeping all to himself. In “A Choice of Accommodations,” a husband’s attempt to turn an old friend’s wedding into a romantic getaway weekend with his wife takes a dark, revealing turn as the party lasts deep into the night. In “Only Goodness,” a sister eager to give her younger brother the perfect childhood she never had is overwhelmed by guilt, anguish, and anger when his alcoholism threatens her family. And in “Hema and Kaushik,” a trio of linked stories—a luminous, intensely compelling elegy of life, death, love, and fate—we follow the lives of a girl and boy who, one winter, share a house in Massachusetts. They travel from innocence to experience on separate, sometimes painful paths, until destiny brings them together again years later in Rome.

Unaccustomed Earth is rich withJhumpa Lahiri’s signature gifts: exquisite prose, emotional wisdom, and subtle renderings of the most intricate workings of the heart and mind. It is a masterful, dazzling work of a writer at the peak of her powers.

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Price: $14.55 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The classic novel of Jewish immigrants in new trade paperback format and design, with sixteen period photographs

This masterwork of American immigrant literature is set in the 1920s on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and tells the story of Sara Smolinsky, the youngest daughter of an Orthodox rabbi, who rebels against her father's rigid conception of Jewish womanhood. Sarah's struggle towards independence and self-fulfillment resonates with a passion all can share. Beautifully redesigned page for page with the previous editions, Bread Givers is an essential historical work with enduring relevance. 16 b/w photographs..
Price: $5.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

All church leaders have faced the questions that arrive with newcomers: Do they feel comfortable? Is there more we could do to serve them? Will they want to come back? Creating an environment that both embraces our newcomers and excites them enough to return does not happen by chance. We must be prepared to be effective stewards of the newcomers God brings us. And, why shouldn t the Church be the epitome of service at its best, as modeled by the greatest server of all time? Built on The Journey Church of the City s Assimilation Seminar, Fusion embodies a step-by-step, biblically grounded, tested and proven plan for establishing a relationship with newcomers that ultimately prompts them to become fully developing members of our congregations. This innovative, practical guide is full of how-to information, testimonials from the recently assimilated and from participating church leaders, examples of the assimilation materials used and check points to make sure the reader is on track. Engaging, informative and immediately applicable, here is help for setting newcomers on the path toward true life transformation and spiritual maturity..
Price: $7.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

What is it like for a native people of the rainforest to confront features of a modern world? In 1980-82, the Gebusi of Papua New Guinea held elaborate ritual dances and spirit seances, practiced alternative sexual customs, and endured a very high rate of violence By 1998, however, most Gebusi had been willingly transformed by Christian conversion, schooling, market activity, disco music, sports leagues, and local government. This book vividly portrays both the traditions and the dramatic changes of Gebusi society and culture. Written especially for students, the account uses personal stories and ethnographic examples to connect developments among Gebusi to topics that are widely considered in anthropology courses, including comparative features of subsistence, kinship, economics, politics, religion, gender, ethnicity, and nationalism.

The author lived among the Gebusi for several years, on two occasions. His account of his experience with these fascinating people aims to illustrate issues and topics prominent in undergraduate anthropology courses; provide a dramatic, personal, and well-written story of cultural transformation; and unfold the relation between so-called traditional customs and so-called modern ones. His goal in publishing the ethnography is "to let the Gebusi come alive to readers, to portray their past and their present, and to connect their dramatic changes with those in my own life and those in contemporary anthropology.".
Price: $30.37 [Notify me when price goes down.]

New research reveals why America can no longer afford mass immigration

Mark Krikorian has studied the trends and concluded that America must permanently reduce immigration— both legal and illegal—or face enormous problems in the near future.

His argument is based on facts, not fear. Wherever they come from, today’s immigrants are actually very similar to those who arrived a century ago. But they are coming to a very different America—one where changes in the economy, society, and government create different incentives for newcomers.

Before the upheavals of the 1960s, the U.S. expected its immigrants—from Italy to India—to earn a living, learn English, and become patriotic Americans. But the rise of identity politics, political correctness, and Great Society programs means we no longer make these demands. In short, the problem isn’t them, it’s us. Even positive developments such as technological progress hinder the assimilation of immigrants. It’s easy now for newcomers to live “transnational” lives.

Immigration will be in the headlines through Election Day and beyond, and this controversial book will help drive the debate..
Price: $15.01 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Following an Australian government edict in 1931, black aboriginal children and children of mixed marriages were gathered up and taken to settlements to be institutionally assimilated. In Rabbit-Proof Fence, award-wining author Doris Pilkington traces the story of her mother, Molly, one of three young girls uprooted from their community in Southwestern Australia and taken to the Moore River Native Settlement. There, Molly and her relatives Gracie and Daisy were forbidden to speak their native language, forced to abandon their heritage, and taught to be culturally white. After regular stays in solitary confinement, the three girls planned and executed a daring escape from the grim camp..
Price: $5.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

As a second-generation Chinese-American, Eric Liu has grown up with an awkward relationship to race and ethnic identity He can follow a conversation in Chinese, although he would have problems if he tried to take part in it; as for the written language, he is functionally illiterate. He would be the first person to question which of his personality traits are "Chinese" or "American," "Asian" or "white," or none of the above, and The Accidental Asian is, in fact, a rigorous self-examination--not merely about the costs and benefits of assimilation, but about whether assimilation should even be viewed in those terms.

Whether he's recalling his adolescent frustration with "Chinese hair" that just wouldn't permit itself to be styled, examining the history of Chinatown, or pondering the mixture of fear and fascination with which China is viewed by Americans, Liu writes with admirable personal intensity. It doesn't matter whether you consider The Accidental Asian to be a memoir or a batch of interconnected essays; once you've read it, you will be forced to consider for yourself what place, if any, race has in America today (but even more so tomorrow)..
Price: $8.28 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Ignatiev traces the tattered history of Irish and African-American relations, revealing how the Irish used labor unions, the Catholic Church and the Democratic party to succeed in American.

Focusing on how the Irish were assimilated as "whites" in America, Noel Ignatiev uncovers the roots of conflict between Irish-Americans and African-Americans and draws a powerful connection between the embracing of white supremacy and Irish "success" in 19th century American society. Ignatiev traces the tattered history of Irish and African-American relations, revealing how the Irish used labor unions, the Catholic Church and the Democratic party to help gain and secure their newly found place in the White Republic..
Price: $16.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Based on a national study, this book shows how churches can move both new and old members into ministry by implementing effective new members’ classes..
Price: $9.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $15.57 [Notify me when price goes down.]