PositiveThe Wall Street JournalThe American Immigration Act of 1891, which established the immigration center at Ellis Island, imposed greater health requirements on steamship companies, stricter regulations at ports of embarkation and rigorous medical examinations for the arrivals. Mr. Anbinder, citing his own forebears, offers us a striking picture of what these immigrants underwent ... It is a pity that, given his omnibus approach, Mr. Anbinder devotes little more than 60 of his 570 pages of text to this third great wave of immigration, one of the most exciting chapters in the city’s immigrant life ... Mr. Anbinder has provided a valuable service by crafting a single volume that focuses solely on New York as a gateway, a haven and a crucible that forged the fates of millions of immigrants who in turn shaped the destiny of our nation.
