The Truth About Immigration, Zeke Hernandez
The Truth About Immigration, Zeke Hernandez
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

The Truth About Immigration
Why Successful Societies Welcome Newcomers

Author: Zeke Hernandez

Narrator: André Santana, Zeke Hernandez

Unabridged: 11 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/04/2024

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

"Santana's engaging narration makes the audiobook not just informative but also compelling. He captures the listener's attention whether he's discussing the historical context of immigration policies or exploring contemporary debates. Santana's delivery ensures that listeners remain thoroughly engaged throughout this audiobook."—AudioFile

This program features an introduction, afterword, and acknowledgements read by the author.

The go-to book on immigration: fact-based, comprehensive, and nonpartisan.

Immigration is one of the most controversial topics in the United States and everywhere else. Pundits, politicians, and the public usually depict immigrants as either villains or victims. The villain narrative is that immigrants pose a threat—to our economy because they steal our jobs; our way of life because they change our culture; and to our safety and laws because of their criminality. The victim argument tells us that immigrants are needy outsiders—the poor, huddled masses whom we must help at our own cost if necessary. But the data clearly debunks both narratives. From jobs, investment, and innovation to cultural vitality and national security, more immigration has an overwhelmingly positive impact on everything that makes a society successful.

In The Truth About Immigration, Wharton professor Zeke Hernandez draws from nearly 20 years of research to answer all the big questions about immigration. He combines moving personal stories with rigorous research to offer an accessible, apolitical, and evidence-based look at how newcomers affect our local communities and our nation. You'll learn about the overlooked impact of immigrants on investment and job creation; realize how much we take for granted the novel technologies, products, and businesses newcomers create; get the facts straight about perennial concerns like jobs, crime, and undocumented immigrants; and gain new perspectives on misunderstood issues such as the border, taxes, and assimilation.

Most books making a case for immigration tell you that immigration is good for immigrants. This book is all about how newcomers benefit you, your community, and your country. Skeptics fear that newcomers compete economically with locals because of their similarities and fail to socially assimilate because of their differences. You'll see that it's exactly the opposite: newcomers bring enduring economic benefits because of their differences and contribute positively to society because of their similarities. Destined to become the go-to book on one of the most important issues of our time, this book turns fear into hope by proving a simple truth: immigrants are essential for economically prosperous and socially vibrant nations.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

About Zeke Hernandez

Zeke Hernandez is the Max and Bernice Garchik Family Presidential Associate Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A thought leader in the areas of global and corporate strategy, Hernandez has won an unprecedented three consecutive Emerging Scholar awards and was selected by Poets & Quants as one of the Best 40 Under 40 business professors in the world. His research has been published in scholarly journals and profiled by media outlets such as NPR, Forbes, and the Wall Street Journal. He holds bachelors and masters degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University and a PhD in business administration from the University of Minnesota.

About André Santana

André Santana is an audiobook narrator on a journey to tell great stories. Brazilian-born and Seattle-raised, he now lives in NYC where he's recorded 150+ titles across genres. In his work, you'll hear a flair for human and connected performances crafted around the voice of the text. André believes that humanity lives inside the heartbreak, comedy, drama, and other dimensions books deliver, and that a great audiobook meets that with intention and artistry. His work has been celebrated with several Earphone awards, Audie nominations, by the Voice Arts Awards, One Voice Awards, and more.As a non-binary and Black narrator, he loves both telling stories that match him and disappearing into new characters across the literary multiverse. Find him in the throws of a coming-of-age novel, on spellbinding fantasy journeys with quirky companions, or in the thick of suburban drama.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Walter on February 04, 2025

I have this habit of going on reading binges whenever a subject catches my interest, on when current events dictate I should become better informed on certain issues. This book concerns the latter. It is much better to learn about things before forming an opinion, eh? "The Truth About Immigration" ju......more

Goodreads review by Erik on November 10, 2024

This is a wonderfully compelling and data-driven book that clearly demonstrates that immigration improves innovation, investment, and job creation, and even makes us safer as a country. The author argues both against binary views of immigrants as villains to be feared and of immigrants as victims to......more

Goodreads review by Krista on January 09, 2025

I read this for book club and was really surprised by the actual research and statistics behind immigration. I'm humbled to say that I was one of the masses whose options (if I even had any) were largely shaped by the echo chamber I was in, rather than based on any real information! It was enlighten......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on May 07, 2024

This is a fantastic book on immigration. The authors ability to weave economic, cultural, and societal questions into one text makes it a great primer on the issues. Regardless of where you land on questions of immigration, Hernandez gives compelling arguments backed by peer-reviewed research to hel......more

Goodreads review by Jason on August 11, 2024

This apolitical book is profound in teaching me much I didn’t know about immigration. After reading it, I totally agree that we should streamline our process for legal immigration and essentially welcome those who want to come to America via a legal process. Hearing about how slowly the process goes......more


Quotes

"A highly readable, potentially influential contribution to the literature on immigration."
Kirkus (starred)

"America needs more immigrants. That’s the message of this important new book by Zeke Hernandez. Cutting through the noise and misinformation that colors this debate, it marshals detailed data and moving personal stories to show how immigrants of all backgrounds and skill levels drive investment, innovation, and jobs; do essential work that Americans shy away from; create widespread economic gains; and make our cities and communities stronger and safer."
—Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class

“Debates about immigration are at the forefront of politics, but they’re rarely informed by data. Zeke Hernandez has spent his career studying how immigrants affect our lives and our livelihoods, and his research is filled with results that will surprise both liberals and conservatives. Wherever you stand ideologically, his book will challenge you to rethink some of your views and reconsider the potential in people from foreign countries.”
—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Potential and Think Again and host of the TED podcast Re:Thinking

"The Truth About Immigration is a model of persuasive writing: a deft mix of social science data and personal stories, including the author’s own…'The essence of the economy is people interacting with each other,' [Hernandez] writes. Those interactions, which include immigrants and locals at many levels, have driven both economic success and social equality. This is a book worth reading and pondering."
—Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Pulitzer Prize Winning historian and Professor emerita, Harvard University

“In a wonderfully engaging style that combines anecdotes, personal stories, and state of the art research, Hernandez challenges the traditional narratives that portray immigrants as villains or victims. Readers will come away with a greater appreciation of their own communities and the growing body of research underlying this richly detailed book.”
—David Card, Winner of the Nobel Prize and Class of 1950 Professor of Economics, University of California Berkeley

"Zeke Hernandez’s wonderful book makes a compelling case that we should shift our thinking about immigration away from what he calls 'unfounded fear' to 'factual optimism,' based on research regarding innovation, cultural vitality, and the contributions of immigrants that greatly benefit the host nation. People and policy makers around the world should study this book and take in its lessons."
—Guido Imbens, Winner of the Nobel Prize and Economics Professor, Stanford University

“Finally, a book that explains in detail why immigration is good for the country, and why it should be embraced. A must-read for anybody who wants their society to reach its maximum potential.”
—Luis von Ahn, founder and CEO, Duolingo