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slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
I really had a hard time telling all these rich, racist, white dudes apart.
This was incredibly well researched and detailed. Maybe a bit sense in places, but worth it.
Chilling in the extreme, especially given today's environment and similar language
challenging
informative
slow-paced
NYT Notable Books 2019: 36/100
Even going into this book with a bit of a knowledge base on eugenics and social Darwinism, I still learned a lot in this book . I have a degree in anthropology, so a lot of these topics (and people) were discussed, so it was interesting to read more about them and from a different angle than the academic one I'm used to. This book did feel a bit dense and slow at points, and maybe it's because I've read stronger books touching on the same time period, but focused on Black Americans, but this just didn't really stand out to me. It's a decent read if you're looking to learn more on the subject, but wasn't my favourite.
Even going into this book with a bit of a knowledge base on eugenics and social Darwinism, I still learned a lot in this book . I have a degree in anthropology, so a lot of these topics (and people) were discussed, so it was interesting to read more about them and from a different angle than the academic one I'm used to. This book did feel a bit dense and slow at points, and maybe it's because I've read stronger books touching on the same time period, but focused on Black Americans, but this just didn't really stand out to me. It's a decent read if you're looking to learn more on the subject, but wasn't my favourite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Antisemitism
I truly had no idea the depths my country sank to in the pursuit of a “perfect” America. I knew there were severely restricted immigration policies, but knew very little about the horrible eugenic theories that guided these policies. Powerful book. Review to come.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
This isn’t just a book about the laws that went into place in the US in the 1920’s to prevent immigration from “unwanted” countries - it’s also a great overview of the history of racism in the US and the very strong presence of the eugenics movement that went hand in hand with it. It has echoes all the way down to our present day of course, and the cast of characters are just as unsavory, lacking the intelligence they claimed was absent in the targeted countries, and shortsighted at best. Like the author, I stem from countries and groups that were targets that went into effect in the 20’s so this book definitely hits home.
A good popular history of a shameful chapter in our nation's history. Okrent makes no bones about calling out bigotry and having decided opinions about all the racists he profiles, and his footnotes are delightfully idiosyncratic, often peppery, and frequently tangential (but in the finest tradition of tangential footnotes).
At times it does get a little difficult remembering which bigot is which, particularly for the more minor characters, but on the whole Okrent does a pretty good job of jogging the reader's memory when needed.
I do think the book could have used a little more about the anti-restrictionists. They make only bare shadows of appearances, and hearing more about them would have balanced the story out a bit. As it is, the narrative force of the restrictionists' surge and retreat is blunted by the choice to focus so heavily on them and ignore the opposition. It ends up feeling like "200 exhaustive pages of detailed biographies leading up to a major legislative victory for the restrictionists, but then, surprise! Anti-restrictionists roll a 20, and in 2 brief pages the bigoted President suddenly decides to veto after all".
Despite this imbalance, however, and despite the occasional feeling that the book is mostly an endless string of biographies of various bigots, The Guarded Gate is a good read. Particularly given the current climate, and how much of this historical bigotry is depressingly mirrored today.
At times it does get a little difficult remembering which bigot is which, particularly for the more minor characters, but on the whole Okrent does a pretty good job of jogging the reader's memory when needed.
I do think the book could have used a little more about the anti-restrictionists. They make only bare shadows of appearances, and hearing more about them would have balanced the story out a bit. As it is, the narrative force of the restrictionists' surge and retreat is blunted by the choice to focus so heavily on them and ignore the opposition. It ends up feeling like "200 exhaustive pages of detailed biographies leading up to a major legislative victory for the restrictionists, but then, surprise! Anti-restrictionists roll a 20, and in 2 brief pages the bigoted President suddenly decides to veto after all".
Despite this imbalance, however, and despite the occasional feeling that the book is mostly an endless string of biographies of various bigots, The Guarded Gate is a good read. Particularly given the current climate, and how much of this historical bigotry is depressingly mirrored today.