ELLIS ISLAND

With the handsome treatment readers have come to expect, Bial presents the history of the New York Harbor immigration station that processed a good half of the immigrants coming to America between 1892 and 1924. In economical prose, he sketches in early immigration patterns and practices, explains the establishment of the immigration station at the beginning of the federal government’s oversight of the process, describes its building (and rebuilding after a fire burned the first structure), the Atlantic voyage, the hopefuls’ passage through the various examinations, their occasional detention and refusal at the border, its closing after World War I and its renaissance as a tourist site. Illustrated with the author’s photographs of the current museum as well as archival images, the account is further enriched by frequent quotes from those who passed through its doors. Although high points receive more attention than low ones, it is overall a measured account, although limited by its brevity. Suggestions for further reading include titles for both adults and children. (Nonfiction. 9-13)