Eight titles about the complicated history of U.S. citizenship

Katie Moench is a librarian, runner, and lover of baked goods. A school librarian in the Upper Midwest, Moench lives with her husband and dog and spends her free time drinking coffee, trying new recipes, and adding to her TBR list.

At Book Riot she tagged eight books that show "the idea of citizenship was not something once defined in the early years of the U.S. as a country, but it is rather a nebulous concept that has been defined and redefined over and over since the nation’s beginnings." One title on the list:

Americans in Waiting: The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United States by Hiroshi Motomura

In this expansive text, Professor Hiroshi Motomura compares and contrasts the experiences of immigrants to the United States across two centuries. Examining immigration statutes, deportation laws, and cultural conceptions of whether newcomers should assimilate to their new country, Motomura provides a comprehensive look at how American laws and American attitudes toward immigration and naturalization have shifted over time.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue