"Van Nuys broadens our view of Americanization programs by locating them in the factories, fields,and towns of the West. Based on extensive archival research, this book would be an effective resource for teachers and scholars interested in presenting a diverse West."—Annals of Iowa
"An eloquently written account. . . . A valuable addition to the libraries of historians of immigration and the American West and further contributes to the arguments made for an anti-Turnerian interpretation of the West’s position in American history."—Great Plains Research
"A compelling account of the rise and fall of “Americanization”—the effort to assimilate so-called new immigrants to the United States from the 1890s through the 1920s—with a regional focus on the American West.. . . . Van Nuys provides an additional, provocative thesis that raises the value and contribution of this book to both western and Progressive-era historiographies. He argues that, although Americanization failed as a progressive attempt to assimilate immigrants, westerners’ active participation and influence in these programs succeeded in Americanizing the West. . . . Van Nuys . . . makes a complex story clear and advances a compelling argument."—Oregon Historical Quarterly
"Van Nuys explores how national campaigns to Americanize immigrants through social engineering and bureaucratic methods played out in the West. This well-written work, based on solid research, is clearly a valuable addition to the literature . . . "—Journal of American History
"Van Nuys deftly places his story into the broader discussion of national history. By viewing the West as a multiracial frontier, Americanizing the West has forged an exciting new approach to western history that should allow for intense analysis and debate."—Montana The Magazine of Western History
"Van Nuys superbly narrates and analyzes the assimilation of immigrants during the early 20th century. A valuable addition to the overall understanding of U.S. ethnic history. Highly recommended."—Choice
"A valuable contribution to our better understanding of the forces of social and cultural transformation of the American West."—Utah Historical Quarterly
“Provides a provocative description of how Westerners perceived their region as a ‘racial frontier,’ an image that shaped their responses to immigrants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. . . . Sheds much new light on their attitudes and actions, particularly in the two decades between 1910 and 1930.”—Elliott Robert Barkan, author of And Still They Come: Immigrants and American Society, 1920 to the 1990s
“A valuable contribution to the literature of Western history and the history of immigration and ethnicity in the United States.”—Jon Gjerde, author of The Minds of the West: Ethnocultural Evolution in the Rural Middle West, 1830–1917
“A must-read for anyone interested in immigration history, and immigration policy, especially concerning the American West.”—Walter Nugent, author of Crossings: The Great Transatlantic Migrations, 1870–1914