| Book Review | Labour History, 96 | The History Cooperative

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BOOK REVIEW

Ronald L. Lewis, Welsh Americans: A History of Assimilation in the Coalfields, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 2008. pp. x + 395. $49.95 cloth.

Mention of nineteenth century migration to America, or elsewhere in the New World, typically produces images of hardship, discrimination and exploitation. Ronald L. Lewis' account of Welsh Americans reminds us that, for many migrants, the American dream of self-improvement, economic success and increasing prosperity was achievable. Unlike other ethnic groups, the Welsh were fluent in English and highly skilled. Moreover, their non-conformist brand of Protestantism – with its emphasis on sobriety, hard work, and respectability – fitted in with the dominant ethos of American society. Economic success meant that there was little need for Welsh workers and their families to group together. Instead, Lewis observes, 'they simply and quickly became Americans' (p. 307).

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