NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev., Nov. 5, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- You are a well-educated professional from Europe. The moment you step on American soil as an immigrant, you turn into a man at the bottom with nothing to your name. Such a heartbreaking story, all the more that it rings true with real experiences of immigrants. In Edith Bach Hall's new book, The Promised Land, learn the story of one immigrant's pursuit of the American dream and what he discovers along the way.
The book narrates the life of Theodor, a Danish immigrant, who struggles to integrate into the American culture. It is his love-hate story -- the awe, the wonder, the ecstasy of experiencing all things new versus the stress of loneliness, the humiliation of being considered stupid, and the agony of being shunned. He works with machines he knows nothing about, with people who speak a language that boggles his mind. Enamored with American affluence, he strikes out on his own -- living in a dugout and planting his corn by hand. He is overjoyed with an unusually large crop but when he attempts to sell it, the market has collapsed and he is reduced to sharing the grain with his animals. He becomes despondent and depressed. He wants to go home but he cannot. He had come to America on someone else's papers.
"We are all foreigners or descendants of foreigners in this land. This book reaffirms who we are individually and gives a better understanding of the world's melting pot," says Bach, who was born to immigrant parents and who personally heard immigrant tales from the 1890-1910 period. The Promised Land -- by turns lyrical and observant, insightful and sympathetic -- is a beautifully written work of fiction that brings to light the plight of immigrants in America, their daily struggles in a foreign soil, and their crucial role in the making of American history.
About the Author
The seventh child of immigrant parents, Edith Bach Hall was born in 1923 near Nuckolls County, Nebraska. Edith began classes in a one-room country school then moved with her family to northwestern Nebraska where she attended the city schools, graduating with honors in 1940. That fall she enrolled in the local college. In 1941, she married Cyrus Hall. While each of their four children were receiving an education, Edith worked in several banks for twelve years, followed by another twelve years in the medical field and the last two as a hospital administrator.
Edith suffered a heart attack in 1976 and her interest turned to creative writing, taking several writing courses from the University of Iowa and completing the Advanced Novel writing course offered by the Writer's Digest School. Her first novel, Sweet Promises, was published in 1996. This was followed by the sequel, The Promised Land.
The Promised Land * By Edith Bach Hall
Publication Date: February 9, 2004
Trade Paperback; $24.99; 462 pages; 1-4010-9661-1
* Cloth Hardback; $34.99; 462 pages; 1-4010-9662-X
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