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The Promise Fulfilled A Portrait of Norwegian Americans Today Odd S. Lovoll |
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$29.95 Cloth/jacket |
The story of contemporary life in this vital community. On October 9, 1825, the sloop Restauration sailed into New York harbor with the first fifty-three Norwegian immigrants to America. In the next 100 years over 800,000 people would leave Norway to become members of a proud new community in the United States. Today, the Norwegian American population numbers nearly 4 million-almost as many people as live in Norway. The Promise Fulfilled is an enlightening-and not uncritical-consideration of Norwegian American history, continuing the story begun in the best-selling The Promise of America. Prominent historian Odd S. Lovoll details where Norwegian Americans live, what kinds of jobs they hold, how their ethnic heritage is passed on, and to what extent their dreams of life in the United States have been fulfilled. Lovoll researched historical documents, conducted an extensive questionnaire, and performed hundreds of follow-up interviews. He introduces us to wheat farmers in North Dakota, halibut fishermen in the Pacific Northwest, and carpenters in Brooklyn who all consider themselves Norwegian Americans. He interviews prominent Norwegian Americans, like Walter Mondale, and everyday people-factory workers, at-home mothers, small-business owners, and teenagers. One unique aspect of The Promise Fulfilled is Lovoll's pioneering consideration of the social history of all seven generations of Norwegian Americans. From the traditional lutefisk dinners to civic activism, Lovoll uncovers the festive spirit of contemporary Norwegian American culture. This vibrant ethnic community, with large enclaves in New York City, California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Midwest, maintains ties through genealogy, family reunions, and a shared culinary and arts and crafts heritage. Lovoll's lucid, engaging, and nuanced history will be essential reading—and a popular gift—for anyone interested in Scandinavian culture. "Odd Lovoll provides fascinating and important insights about the distinctive presence in American life of Norwegian immigrants and their ancestors. Then again, I might be biased." —Walter F. Mondale, former U.S. Vice President and Norwegian American "The Promise Fulfilled is a fascinating and enlightening read from cover to cover." —The Norseman "Gives us a more complete and realistic evaluation of what America meant to all those immigrants who left Europe in search of a new and better life." —Historisk tidsskrift “Richly illustrated and attractive, The Promise Fulfilled represents solid, systematic research and can be appreciated by scholar and non-scholar alike. Lovoll has challenged us to frame new questions and to map the ethnic identities and expressions of others in the great American experiment.” —Wisconsin Magazine of History “The Promise Fulfilled is a truly groundbreaking investigation of the meaning of ethnicity among immigrant descendants. No previous comprehensive survey of latter-day ethnicity has bee published for any ethnic group in America . . . Lovoll leaves virtually no stone unturned. He shows how time and environment have affected old traditions in America . . . Lovoll’s study is a model of its kind, which one hopes may inspire similar studies of other ethnic groups. This review can only begin to do justice to the wealth of fascinating detail which a master historian here presents in his characteristically lucid prose.” —Scandinavian Studies Odd S. Lovoll immigrated to the United States from Norway in 1946 and was educated at Norwegian and U.S. universities. He is the King Olav V Chair in Scandinavian American studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He edits the Norwegian American Historical Association's publications and is the author of The Promise of America (1984). 352 pages | 52 black-and-white photos, 19 tables, 1 map | 8 x 9 | 1998 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 1. The Shifting Face of Norwegian America Notes |
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$24.95 Paper