The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Fall 1985, Volume 31, Number 4
Thomas L. Scharf, Editor
Book Notes
Raymond Starr, Book Review Editor
And Yet They Come: Portuguese Immigration from the Azores to the United States. By Jerry R. Williams. New York: Center for Migration Studies. 1982. Maps. Charts. Bibliography. Index. 150 Pages. $14.95 Cloth. $9.95 Paper-bound.
The Portuguese are important to San Diego’s past and present. They have been a dominant factor in the tuna fishing industry and in the life of Point Loma. Many of the San Diego Portuguese came to the United States from the Azores. Hence Jerry Williams’ study, And Yet They Come, is important to San Diego history. Williams’ book is an effort to understand the Azorean Portuguese who came to the United States. He examines whaling, settlements in New England and the West, efforts to maintain their culture, and he tries to evaluate the Azorean presence in America. Maps and charts help tell the story. Although Williams’ bibliography does contain some San Diego items (but also omits others), and the text contains a few references to San Diego, there is little in the book on San Diego per se. It will mostly be useful to San Diego historians by helping them understand the broader picture of Azorean immigration to the United States. This will enable local historians to put the San Diego Portuguese experience into a broader context.
