The Other Americans.

• Author: O'Brien, Greig

Horatio Alger, that cultural icon of the 19th century, was the definitive chronicler of the American dream -- a dream based on the celebration of rugged individualism and the promise of upward mobility. Alger's heroes were invariably outsiders, brave men and women who traveled to the infant metropolises of the 1800s and, through toil and determination, rose through the ranks of the social hierarchy. Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, Alger's optimistic legacy has withered. Powerful and impersonal economic forces have robbed us of our sense of economic mobility and individual stability. Hope has vanished from the landscape of the American mind

But revitalization is just beyond our border, says Joel Millman. In his new book, The Other Americans, Millman suggests that immigrants could be the most effective source for two of this country's most basic needs: hope and prosperity. Through historical context and individual narratives, Millman constructs a powerful answer to the anti-immigrant ravings of the right. Unfortunately Millman never directly confronts his nativist opposition -- and this weakens his argument. Nevertheless, by showcasing the success of various immigrant groups across the United States, he shows how large groupings of immigrants not only thrive, but benefit their surrounding communities and cities as well.

The presence of immigrants is especially beneficial when immigrant groups reach "critical mass" -- when the influx into specific neighborhoods grows large enough for a cohesive ethnic community to develop. As Millman points out, at least in the case of New York, "throughout the peak years of immigration, arrests for rape, robbery, murder, and theft kept trending, stubbornly, down," while in periods of low immigration, crime rates rose. While he makes sure not to attribute this statistic purely to the presence of new Americans, it is a coincidence that should be investigated further and pointed out to our policy-makers whenever they feel the need to boost their profile by attacking the ever-present "alien" problem.

An important characteristic of this "critical mass" community is a growing immigrant middle-class that stays put. The biggest drain on our nation's cities since World War II has been the middle-class relocation to the suburbs -- a trend that began in the '50s and has since intensified. But making our inner cities more hospitable again doesn't seem to require more law enforcement. (although that...