They braved the rough voyage across the ocean to attain the American dream, but the ancestors of America's rich and diverse social landscape first struggled to make a life in their new homeland. Through the immigrants' own words and contemporary photographs and illustrations, these inspiring volumes not only tell the story of each immigrant group, but also provide insight on what it means to be an American today. Once denied entrance to the United States by the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Chinese Americans became one of America's most successful and respected ethnic groups.

During the late 1800s and the first half of the 1900, Harvey Houses were a familiar sight to train travelers in the American West. Harvey Girls served gourmet meals to passengers of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway (there were one hundred Harvey Houses and about a hundred thousand Harvey Girls over the years ). In a time when career choices for women were limited, becoming a Harvey Girl off ered rare independence for young ladies.
In 1919 one such aspirant is fourteen-year-old Clara Fern Massie, who runs away from home in the Ozarks after standing up to her harsh father. Heading...