I received this book through the Early Reviewers program. It is written by Mo Goldman who is an immigration attorney in Arizona. I was really captivated by the book in the beginning when it was discussing the heartbreaking experiences of Esther and Harry Praw and what they went through during the Holocaust. Unfortunately, I was expecting more information about their experiences, but really this book is much more centered around current and past immigration laws and policies in the US. I understand the author didn't have a ton of direct knowledge regarding their experiences, especially having never personally interviewed Esther because as a child he felt nervous around her. Which is understandable, just something a reader should know before going in to the book. This read to me much more like an informative book regarding immigration law (current and past.) I do appreciate the author did a good job of citing sources they used when making statements, and offered the reader further places to explore if they were looking for further information on certain topics. I did notice some typos, more than I would expect in a book of this size. Not a big deal, just distracting from the reading. Overall I would give this book 3/5 stars. ( )

The Last Survivor: Lessons from the Past and the Dying Dream of Freedom, written by Arizona immigration lawyer Mo Goldman, is the grandson of Polish Holocaust survivors. His grandmother, Esther is introduced in the first chapter in a gripping narrative that uses her own words, as recorded by Anita Schwartz in 1983 as part of the Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive, University of Michigan-Dearborn project. His narrative is tastefully written. It brings out the trauma and horror of life under the Nazi's, life in Concentration Camps, without being obscene. For me, this was brilliant.

As the book is advertised as a "book [that] primarily follows Esther's journey in her own words and compares her immigration story to the stories of immigrants who are trying to find that same dream today", I had hoped that more details of her story/life would be presented in the detailed manner that was shown in Chapter 1. Although, we come to know, Esther was very tight-lipped about her life, she did give hints and there were others, her husband who was also a Holocaust survivor, and her children who could fill in the blanks. What is actually given is a full throated history of immigration laws and regulations in the United States with slivers of information comparing Esther's journey to those who are attempting to become citizens in today's quagmire of laws and regulations.

It isn't that I didn't find the immigration history interesting, I was just expecting/hoping for a different book. I completely appreciate the narrative of how difficult it is for immigrants today to attain legal status in the U.S.. Reading the recent history of how things got so horribly bad, especially beginning in the Clinton years with his NAFTA and the immigration reforms he set in motion, reminded me how upsetting it all was in the 1990's when this occurred. Goldman does a good job showing how the immigration process has become progressively more difficult and convoluted over the ensuing decades- no matter the political party in power.

For those of you who are interested in immigration history and reading some of the stories of immigrants in recent times (not just hispanic at the southern border, but those from Asia, Europe, and Afghanistan), I whole heartedly recommend this book. If you are looking for the story of Holocaust survivors and how they navigated the system after World War II, this may not be the book for you. ( )