John J. Bukowczyk, of Wayne State University, seemed overall impressed with Anna Pegler-Gordon’s book on photography and its involvement in immigration, “In Sight of America: Photography and the Development of U.S. Immigration Policy,” declaring that it was “excellent and thought provoking.” Bukowczyk claims the book opens a new dialogue for methods and motivations behind immigration laws and actions against immigrants that led to reactions by the immigrants. He also addresses the book’s wide range of topics and interpreted the main theme to be “the creation of race as fact,” which Bukowczyk clarifies is not her original thought but that of Coco Fusco. In the end, he conceded that Pegler-Gordon was likely overestimating the value of images and he claims they more likely confirm rather than define the oral and print culture of immigrants, officials, and immigration history.
Krystyn Moon, of the University of Mary Washington, also praises Pegler-Gordon’s book. She praises her complexity and how Pegler-Gordon addressed double and contradictory meanings of photographic documentation in history. Moon provides a clear layout of the books main themes and a summary of her interpretation of those sections. Closing her review, Moon states that the book is a positive source for immigration history and is a part of a growing movement to incorporate
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Hernandez, of UCLA, like Moon clearly addresses the different parts of the focus of Pegler-Gordon’s book. He praises her discussion of Angel Island and El Paso, Texas, in addition to Ellis Island, but in terms of the book’s content the praises end there. Hernandez is quick to address that he finds it obvious that Pegler-Gordon is knowledgeable on the subject. However, he states the book is bloated and over-complex, therefore, confusing its readers. In its entirety, he does believe that it offers a detailed explanation of photography in immigration, but the review is clear that in its detail the book may be