“The Long Way Home is a riveting remembrance of the Great War by a master writer…. Deeply compelling.” — Douglas Brinkley “Moving, revealing, and lovingly researched, this book is a must read, and a great read, for any of us whose forebears came from overseas-meaning just about all of us.” — Erik Larson The author of the award-winning The Children’s Blizzard, David Laskin, returns with a … David Laskin, returns with a remarkable true story of the immigrants who risked their lives fighting for America during the Great War.
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As much about the immigrant experience circa 1910 as it is about World War I, David Laskin’s The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War offers a unique perspective – or perspectives – on World War I.
Laskin has painstakingly reconstructed the histories of a dozen young, fresh immigrants to the United States, all of whom – by choice or by chance – return to the “Old Country” as soldiers in their adopted country’s army to face the horrors of World War I. The men come from Italy and Ireland, Poland and the Pale of Settlement, and from places that have long ceased to exist (Kaszubia, anyone?). They are driven to the U.S. for all the usual reasons, of course, which generally amounts to seeking an escape from bone crushing poverty. Their experiences here are different – from mining in Montana, gardening in Massachusetts, and of course eking out a living on the Lower East Side (population density 1,000 per square block).
Their roles in war vary as well. Sam Goldberg patrolled the desert southwest as part of the cavalry in the aftermath of the Zimmerman Telegram. Most go to Europe, though, where they are deployed along the Western Front to break a four-year-old stalemate. Here Laskin delves into the politics of fighting war: arranging troops, ordering advances, coordinating positions among men who do not speak the same language. All of this, of course, at a time when messages traveled no faster than a good horse and the messenger might be shot en route. (As a sidenote, I remain fascinated by the fact that the All American Division was comprised of men who spoke 43 languages, but frequently almost no English.)
In Europe some men barely see war, but others become heroes. Michael Valente received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions. And some do not come home.
In many ways, given the U.S.’s late entry into the war, The Long Way Home is a bookend to The Guns of August (still one of the finest World War I histories I’ve read). It is fast paced and, honestly, fascinating, offering insights on the immigrant’s experience as well as the soldier’s. All told, The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War is an excellent read.
The Long Way Home is an account of men who immigrated to the U.S. before WWII. We follow them from their immigration, their struggles to make a new life for themselves in a country where many of them didn’t speak the language and few had much assistance once they got here. Then they joined or were drafted into service to fight for their new country, and in some cases they were fighting against the country of their birth. This non-fiction account brings home many details that are left out of our history books. Many of these soldiers were fighting in units where they could not always understand the commands that they were supposed to follow. Along with all the miseries that war dealt all the brave men who fought, these men also struggled with bias because they were still not recognized as “American”. Their lives are followed after they return from the war.
This book is a good read. I was interested in each of the men and their individual stories, the way the immigration process worked, how Americans reacted to the huge influx of immigrants that were coming to our country. It’s an important story and one you will enjoy. As I read this book, I kept thinking, “I wish this was required reading in our schools.” With the current issues with immigration, this book has relevant information that could help all of us gain some perspective.
Entertaining but formulaic.
Very haunting history and tragically. True and sad history.
This book reveals the feelings of the Civil War soldier on both sides during the decisive battle of Shiloh (Pittsburgh Landing) April 1862.
The book fills in some of the blanks about some of our immigrant ancestor’s from this time last century. In some ways it is appropriate for thinking about today’s immigrants and how they may impact us in the future.
Thoughtful and meaningful.. great understanding of hstory