Because hers is a quasi-morality tale of the victory of tolerant reformers over bigoted obstructionists, Yang detours around the central irony in her historical account: that two of the most significant provisions of the 1965 act, the opening of doors to Asian immigrants (including her father) and the closing of them, through the imposition of quotas, to Latin Americans, principally Mexicans, were not part of the reformers’ agenda during the 40-year 'epic struggle' that is the subject of her book.

... readable and at times enthralling.

Jia Lynn Yang pans wide across the often overlooked 40-year battle to overhaul racist and restrictive immigration laws passed in the early 20th century.

This is very much a journalist’s account. Ms. Yang is disturbed to learn that, until very recently, many prominent Americans held views on race, nationality and an ideal social order that we now consider distasteful. And while she is wise to confine her timeline to the past century, the history is imparted through the stories of political participants whose lives are now mostly forgotten or altogether too well known: John, Robert and Edward Kennedy. This can get a little tedious at times.

... a timely contribution to the discussion. In effect, this book could be considered a prequel and starting point for said debate as it provides a history and prior basis for what has been effectively an ongoing argument for well over 125 years as to who is worthy of admittance to our country and inclusion in what is rapidly becoming a true and absolute melting pot and a multicultural and multipluralist society today.

A clear, well-crafted historical overview of U.S. immigration, and the people who shaped it. Yang defines the issues these debates raised but never settled in a way that informs without overwhelming readers..

With immigration a continuous topic in nearly every national conversation, journalist and editor Yang’s compelling history could not be more timely. Wielding tightly crafted prose, she looks back to the last time this subject was a political flashpoint, taking readers on a dramatic journey through the shifting sands of public opinion in mid-twentieth-century America.

...excellent.

Journalist Yang chronicles four decades of American immigration legislation and reform in her sober and well-researched debut.