These individuals contributed to all areas, including technology, entertainment, industry, business, the arts and literature, medicine, cuisine, architecture, government, the military, and human rights.
Many of the contemporary individuals included were unfamiliar to me. Novic has included people who are not headline news, like the foreign-born doctors who saved President's Regan's life. Some are 'local heroes' like Mona Hana-Attisha, born in the UK to Iraqi parents. Mona noted the high lead levels in Flint children's blood. And others are internationally known, like Israeli-born Gene Simmons, Demon from Kiss or the German-born Albert Einstein.
"Pioneers" include Tammy Duckworth, born in Thailand; she served in Iraq and is a U.S. Senator.
"Builders" include Nikola Tesla, born in Croatia, visionary experimenter in electricity who championed AC current.
"Creators" include novelists Isabel Allende, born in Chile, and Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, born in Nigeria.
"Defenders" begins with author, human rights leader, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, born in Romania.
"Movers" includes Grammy winner and philanthropist Rihanna, born in Barbados.
"Explorers" includes science fiction writer Hugo Gernsback, born in Luxembourg, who coined the term "television" and edited Amazing Stories.
"Thinkers" includes Ishmael Beah, kidnapped and forced to be a child soldier in Sierra Leone. He wrote A Long Way Home and Radiance of Tomorrow.
Novic notes that not all of the people in her book became American citizens. She also did not include Native Americans, whose contributions are significant but do not fit into her parameters. Also, African Americans descended from slaves are not included, as they had no "agency and the search for freedom and opportunity" involved with immigration.
The fully illustrated book has one-page biographies on most of the people but some pages have brief bios on people within a specific group.
This resource will appeal to a wide age group from junior high upward.
I won a copy from Goodreads. My review is fair and unbiased.
