From Plotzk to Boston - An Immigrant's Story - Softcover

Antin, Mary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1444629905 ISBN 13: 9781444629903

Publisher: Read & Co. Books, 2009

Synopsis

Written from the authors own personal experiences of her journey from Polotsk, Russia to Boston, USA in  1894 at the age of 11. This early works, published in  1899, is a fascinating look at American history and immigration. Mary Antin's vivid description of all she and her dear ones went through, enables us to see almost with our own eyes how the invasion of America appears to the impecunious invader. It is thus "a human document" of considerable value, as well as a promissory note of future performance. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

About this title

About the Author

Mary Antin (born Maryashe Antin; June 13, 1881 – May 15, 1949) was an American author and immigration rights activist. She is best known for her 1912 autobiography The Promised Land, an account of her emigration and subsequent Americanization. Maryashe Antin was the second of six children born to Israel and Esther Weltman Antin, a Jewish family living in Polotsk, Belarus, at that time part of Russia. Israel Antin emigrated to Boston in 1891, and three years later he sent for Mary and her mother and siblings. The family moved from Chelsea to Ward 8 in Boston's South End, a notorious slum, as the venue of Israel's stoare changed. She attended Girls' Latin School, now Boston Latin Academy, after finishing primary school. She married Amadeus William Grabau, a geologist, in 1901, and moved to New York City where she attended Teachers College of Columbia University and Barnard College. Antin is best known for her 1912 autobiography The Promised Land, which describes her public school education and assimilation into American culture, as well as life for Jews in Czarist Russia. After its publication, Antin lectured on her immigrant experience to many audiences across the country, and became a major supporter for Theodore Roosevelt and his Progressive Party. During World War I, while she campaigned for the Allied cause, her husband's pro-German activities precipitated their separation and her physical breakdown. Amadeus was forced to leave his post at Columbia University to work in China, where he became "the father of Chinese geology." She was never physically strong enough to visit him there. During World War II, Amadeus was interned by the Japanese and died shortly after his release in 1946. Mary died of cancer on May 15, 1949. She is commemorated on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail.

Review

"Enlightening...the introduction by Pamela S. Nadell of American University is excellent." -- Inter Mountain Jewish News

"The author of The Promised Land describes her family's frightening and exciting journey to America in the 1890's". -- Judaica Book News

About this edition

• Publisher: Read & Co. Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1444629905
• ISBN 13: 9781444629903
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 70