Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience

by Alixa Naff

A unique study in American immigra­tion and assimilation history that also provides a special view of one of the smaller ethnic groups in American society. Naff focuses on the pre-World War I pio­neering generation of Arabic-speaking immigrants, the generation that set the patterns for settlement and assimilation. Unlike many immigrants who were drawn to the United States by dreams of industrial jobs or to escape religious or economic persecution, most of these ar­tisans and owners of small, disconnected plots of land came to America to engage in the enterprise of peddling. Most planned to stay two or three years and re­turn to their homelands.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Islam

392 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1985

Reviews

[Kimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last three chapters were the best and most relevant to what I was wanting to read about. Gave me a great resource to look and see what village in Tripoli my family is from.