Torn between two lands: Armenians in America, 1890 to World War I

by Robert Mirak

Driven by persecution and poverty from their ancestral lands, thousands of Armenians fled to the New World before World War 1. But their hearts and minds remained in part on the Old World with their persecuted countrymen in Turkey and their aspirations for a free Armenia.

This first comprehensive study of the Armenian American community examines the rich background, the patterns of migration and settlement in the New World, the complex economic and social adjustments, the family life, and the religious and political institutions of the newcomers. The author shows that the experience of the Armenians differed from that of other contemporary immigrant groups from Southern and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean in two critical they were rapidly successful in business and agriculture in the first generation, and they were tormented by their history and politics. Of particular interest is his trenchant, detailed analysis of the Armenian revolutionary parties in the United their formation and structure, their fund raising and propaganda activities, and their resort to terrorism.

Lucidly written, this study is an important account of the Armenian American community, which is today the largest Armenian community outside Soviet Armenia.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Ann Odonnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was impressed by the detailed, CLEAR, and completely engaging coverage of the great wave of Armenian immigration from the late 19th Century, into the time of the largest genocide in early 20th Century. A history must-read for anyone exploring the era/book