A compelling, if at times uneven, argument for reforming deportation policy.
Tramonte and Setty combine personal stories with analysis of public policy to provide an overview of the problems with deportations from the United States.
Through interviews, the authors (Tramonte is a communications consultant and director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance; Setty is a senior policy analyst on the immigration and immigrant families team at the Center for Law and Social Policy) have collected the experiences of more than 250 people who have been deported from the United States—deportations that have created “lasting and unnecessary damage on ordinary people.” Their study focuses primarily on the effects on families, leading to analyses of the larger impacts on communities and society as a whole. Many of the personal stories referenced stem from “massive, SWAT-team style raids” throughout northern Ohio conducted by Trump’s ICE following his election and contain devastating testimony from the individuals who lived these experiences. Tramonte and Setty dig into research on the layers of harm resulting from events such as loss of income, children falling into poverty, mental health issues, physical health issues, and more. This research informs their concrete analysis as they go through the Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations to detail how systemic racism has affected immigration law and how more and more people have become eligible for deportation. The authors conclude with recommendations for improving the system. Tramonte and Setty’s breakdown of immigration policy across administrations is particularly enlightening and insightful, and the stories they have collected are potent and powerful, such as that of Seyni Diagne, who received no treatment for his cancer or hepatitis C, neither in ICE detention nor after being sent to jail in Mauritania, his country of origin. In organizing and building their overall argument, however, the authors’ use of a personal perspective versus a more critical, scientific eye feels unbalanced; certain stories are referenced anecdotally without the same background or gravitas as others. Even as it builds to a compelling thesis on immigration, the book feels unsure of the best rhetorical strategy for getting there.
A compelling, if at times uneven, argument for reforming deportation policy.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2023
ISBN: 9798988862420
Page Count: 304
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.
Portraits in a post-pandemic world.
After the Covid-19 lockdowns left New York City’s streets empty, many claimed that the city was “gone forever.” It was those words that inspired Stanton, whose previous collections include Humans of New York (2013), Humans of New York: Stories (2015), and Humans (2020), to return to the well once more for a new love letter to the city’s humanity and diversity. Beautifully laid out in hardcover with crisp, bright images, each portrait of a New Yorker is accompanied by sparse but potent quotes from Stanton’s interviews with his subjects. Early in the book, the author sequences three portraits—a couple laughing, then looking serious, then the woman with tears in her eyes—as they recount the arc of their relationship, transforming each emotional beat of their story into an affecting visual narrative. In another, an unhoused man sits on the street, his husky eating out of his hand. The caption: “I’m a late bloomer.” Though the pandemic isn’t mentioned often, Stanton focuses much of the book on optimistic stories of the post-pandemic era. Among the most notable profiles is Myles Smutney, founder of the Free Store Project, whose story of reclaiming boarded‑up buildings during the lockdowns speaks to the city’s resilience. In reusing the same formula from his previous books, the author confirms his thesis: New York isn’t going anywhere. As he writes in his lyrical prologue, “Just as one might dive among coral reefs to marvel at nature, one can come to New York City to marvel at humanity.” The book’s optimism paints New York as a city where diverse lives converge in moments of beauty, joy, and collective hope.
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781250277589
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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