A well-researched and approachable survey of 21st-century immigration.
A husband-and-wife team explores the psychosocial dimensions of immigration in this nonfiction book.
While the details of their biographies may differ, as Reimann immigrated to the United States as a 10-year-old boy from Germany and Rodríguez-Reimann came via Mexico at 15, the authors share the ubiquitous experiences of most immigrants in grappling with a new home, culture and language barriers, and questions surrounding identity. The book begins by emphasizing that the history of humanity is one of “people on the move,” from early migration out of East Africa onward. From a 21st-century perspective, the volume notes, the number of global immigrants has risen by more than 51 million people per year since 2010, as migrants make up more than 3% of the world’s population. Written as “an act of love,” the volume presents “a framework that helps foster a better understanding of the many pieces that make up an immigration experience.” With doctorates in psychology, the authors come from academic backgrounds and have published multiple articles in scholarly journals. Built on their personal experiences and academic research, this work has a solid basis in peer-reviewed studies and boasts a healthy network of endnotes. But it also succeeds in the authors’ goal of offering readers “professional information about common immigration experiences” in “more accessible,” jargon-free prose. The volume’s accessibility is enhanced by graphs and other visual aids, ample text-box vignettes that feature gripping anecdotes, and a glossary that breaks down the nuanced differences between refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and other terms often misused in public conversations. As top executives of the Group for Immigrant Resettlement & Assessment, the authors focus much of their writing on providing pragmatic policy suggestions and valuable advice to immigrants and their allies regarding transitioning to life in a new nation. This includes how to navigate Covid-19–related protocols. The authors’ practical advice, combined with their academic backgrounds and humanitarian empathy, makes for a definitive work on immigration that convincingly counters the simplistic “zero-sum game” analysis that too often surrounds debates on the issue.
A well-researched and approachable survey of 21st-century immigration.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2021
ISBN: 9781955658003
Page Count: 206
Publisher: Romo Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
IN THE NEWS
PERSPECTIVES
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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