Depending on how you fared, Ellis Island was the Island of Hope or the Island of Tears. Twelve million immigrants entered America through its portals, but 250,000 were sent back home to the starvation or political oppression or pogroms they thought they had escaped. It was the greatest human migration in history, as millions were either pushed out of their countries or pulled by the “promise of America” and the lure of jobs, land, and a better life. Sandler’s writing is clear and full of fascinating details. Ellis Island, for example, had the largest hospital and the largest dining hall in the world. Immigrants expected to find streets paved in gold and mistook skyscrapers for mountains. The immigrants’ own words tell much of the story, and well-selected archival photographs supplement the text. Clearly a labor of love and an ode to Sandler’s grandfather Louis Sage, the volume is a fitting tribute and a fine resource. (introduction, author’s note, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 8+)
