Immigrant Intellectuals

by Ghazi Rayan MD

386 pages, Paperback

Published July 18, 2025

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A full review will follow on Reader Views.

[Roy Meals · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulously researched and artfully written, Immigrant Intellectuals showcases over 200 first-generation (legal) immigrants who have made noteworthy, creative contributions to our understanding of history, journalism, environmentalism, and philosophy among other endeavors celebrating thought and consciousness. Particularly interesting are the roles that immigrant women played in the growth of American intellectual life at a time when they were marginalized. By highlighting the endeavors of this diverse and impassioned, new Americans, Rayan stresses the importance of continued legal immigration to further empower the creativity that energizes American life. The book can either be read straight through or browsed, which is facilitated by the bolding of the names of included individuals. Using either approach, I would have liked to see an index to facilitate review.
This is Rayan's fourth book on American immigrants. The others include bio sketches on immigrants who have made noteworthy inventions or significant contributions to the shaping of American civic life or the health sciences. All are eye opening and enlightening.