The Making of an American

by Jacob A. Riis

The papers which form this autobiography were originally published in The Outlook, the chapter telling of my going "home to mother" in The Churchman, and parts of one or two others in The Century Magazine. To those who have been asking if they are made-up stories, let me say here that they are not. And I am mighty glad they are not. I would not have missed being in it all for anything.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, New York, Sociology, Biography Memoir, Journalism

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1901

About the author

Reports, including How the Other Half Lives (1890), of Danish-born American journalist and reformer Jacob August Riis on living conditions in city slums led to improvements in housing and education.

This Christian helped the impoverished in city of New York; much of his writing focused on those needy. In his youth in Denmark, he read Charles Dickens and James Fennimore Cooper; his works exhibit the story-telling skills, acquired under the tutelage of many English-speaking writers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Riis

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Making of an American by Jacob Riis is a moving and enthusiastic autobiography, saturated with personality. I read it slowly, over several weeks, and caught myself returning to it each time with an attitude of an honored youth, granted an audience by a beloved grandfather of America. He blesses us across time with the tales of one who lived, and lived thoroughly, changing the plight of a nation through his pure good nature and will. His story is brimming with hope and pride. This book is an amazing visit into the past, to the land and the people we once were--a great homage from one of America's less famous forefathers. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of New York, the period of his life (1849-1914), immigrant stories, or of course, the history of social reform.

[Anson Cassel Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me make it clear that I am reviewing the 1966 Harper Torchbook edition, with a helpful introduction and notes by social historian Roy Lubove (1934-1995). The Torchbook reproduces the 1901 first edition, includes the original illustrations, and has comparatively wide margins and large print.

Lubove calls Jacob Riis (1849-1914) a sort of “settlement worker without portfolio.” Today he is best known for his early photojournalistic exposé of New York slums, How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York (1890).

Riis published the chapters of The Making of an American in three different periodicals, a circumstance that partially explains the meandering feel of much of the book. Nevertheless, it’s hard not enjoy what an original reviewer called Riis’s “frankness and virility” in describing emigration from his beloved Denmark and his gradual rise to influence as a New York police reporter. (How many immigrants could have developed enough fluency in an adopted language to make a living writing in it within eight years?)

Riis’s autobiography is free of the bloviating cant typical of his own day (not to mention ours); and while it is easy to confer a condescending smile on Riis’s belief in the power of playgrounds and flowers to make people better, his true love for real human beings, and his earnestness in trying to improve their lives—especially those of children—will dissipate many a cynical thought. The story of Riis’s courtship and marriage is so impossibly romantic that a novelist could never have made it believable; and many disparate thoughts dance in Riis’s head, including evangelical Christianity and the Social Gospel. Riis hated theory, and for that reason, his life and enthusiasms are charming if not necessarily logical. As Lubove writes, this autobiography “will always be the appealing personal testament of a talented, vivacious reporter who never lost the child’s sense of discovery.”

[Lizzy Hite · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this through the Byline Writing podcast (highly recommend, go listen *shoos*), and I really enjoyed reading it. Riis' writing style is very easy to read, and I love the bits of humor he throws in regularly. And just learning a bit more about his story was quite fascinating.

Also, like I mentioned when I first started reading it, getting an actual 1901 edition from the library made it feel even cooler to read. XD

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I practically cry every time Riis writes about his hometown, and the whole book had me laughing and beaming with pride throughout. I've said this before, but I love the way Riis writes. It's so conversational and personal, and the stream-of-consciousness makes it even more likable. What an amazing life, and what an amazing man. I am always so impressed by his work.

[Michele M. Caskey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jacob Riis, Danish American

I liked the book, his story of what life was like for early immigrants is amazing. But the book, evidently has illustrations, many. But the book just says, illustration, and none were there.