Double Passage

George Gmelch is Professor and Chair of Anthropology, Union College. He is the author of The Irish Tinkers: Urbanization of an Itinerant People and To Shorten the Road.

[These] stories provide a vivid picture of island life, as well as a poignant picture of our own urban life-styles."- Islands". . . a welcome and important addition to the scholarly literature on the subject. . . . Double Passage contributes in significant ways to the literature on West Indian migration. It helps, for example, to undergird an emerging view on the causes of West Indian migration. . . . Not only does Double Passage raise questions about the extent of racism against the migrants, but it also provides vivid access to their interior world. By skillful use of the oral histories, Gmelch enables one to follow the migrants as individuals through the migration cycle. . . . [An] important work. Not only does it provide an illuminating portrait of the interior world of West Indians throughout their cycle of migration, but it is also a convincing argument for making oral history an integral part of migration studies."- Oral History Review"Clearly a sensitive interviewer, Gmelch has elicited insightful stories . . . . unlike most social scientists, he concludes that return migrants do contribute new ideas to their home society."- Publishers Weekly"Gmelch is a thoughtful, sensitive listener . . . and editor. He allows his subjects to develop their narratives without too obvious interruptions and the flow provides the non-Barbadian reader with fascinating glimpses into Bajan life and culture--folk beliefs, diets, living conditions, and schooling."- Weekend Nation (St. Michael, Barbados, West Indies)