Review by Choice Review
Jackson's study of demographic mobility in the Ruhr industrial city of Duisburg scrutinizes the ebb and flow of internal migration there from its preindustrial origins as a town of approximately 5,000 inhabitants in 1810 to its subsequent status as a vibrant, industrial GroBstadt of 100,000 residents by the early 20th century. Armed with an arsenal of statistical charts, archival sources, and a highly impressive bibliography, the author debunks widely held views associating immigration--especially the in-movement of single, young males--with the rise after 1850 of urban decay and immorality, with "rootlessness" and "marginality." Instead, Jackson suggests that an unusual degree of stability and continuity, especially with regard to familial relations and traditions, underlay Duisburg's frenetic demographic movement. Furthermore, the energy and labor, as well as the religious diversity, of its new and recent migrants suffused Duisburg's economic, cultural, and social networks with extraordinary dynamism. Based on the painstaking reconstruction of demographic patterns, Jackson's findings are presented in a lucid and informative narrative. This is an indispensable study, essential reading for scholars interested in urban development, and a mandatory acquisition for college and university libraries with collections in social history. Upper-division undergraduates and above. M. Shevin-Coetzee; George Washington University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
