[.ca] Homeland (ISBN 0451198425)

my review:
In this saga, the author uses the backdrop of the end of the 19th century, with all its upheavals inventions and revolutions, to write about a family that comes to America from Germany. The main characters belong to the Crown family, whose patriarch, Joe Crown has migrated to America from Germany in the mid 1850's. He has started a brewing empire. However, the author also introduces us to other environments interacting at the same time: the black community, the poor, the struggling workers, the visionists with the "new" cameras, etc. This is truly an epic work. The author writes in detail about struggles such as the war in Cuba and the American intervention, the Women's struggle for recognition as well as others. Very well written and presented. Very good work!

Great historical fiction:
This is the first work of John Jakes that I have read and will definately look for his others. I have read similar novels abour immigrants and the turn of the century, but this one was of higher quality. Jales told a really good story with excellent character development. It is also the story of America in the 1890s and all the changes of that era. The characters are well drawn and interesting. I also liked that historical figures (Edison, Teddy Roosevelt, Clara Barton, Jane Addams) also wander in and out. The story is mostly the experiences of new German immigrant, Paul Crown. Paul is a truly interesting character and he really grows throughout the story. I look forward to reading the sequel becuase I was sorry when Homeland eneded......

Great Epic:
John Jakes has done it again with another great historical epic. The writing and images put the reader in that era. I felt like a part of the Crown family. It was a long book, but I could not put it down!

Be prepared for an enjoyable journey:
This book took me back in time to events that were very important in American History. I often find myself thinking that today's world offers many difficult and unique challenges; however reading "Homeland" helps me to remember how good, many of us have it now, in the twenty-first century. In the 1890's life was very proscribed for women and still very class-based. John Jakes manages to touch upon many very contemporary issues in an objective and interesting way while writing about history. I am delighted to have stumbled upon a new (to me) author and I look forward to reading his other works in times to come.

An enjoyable epic:
Homeland is not a literary masterpiece, but it is a thoroughly engrossing look at turn-of-the-century America through the eyes and adventures of one family. Joe Crown is a German immigrant who has built a successful brewery. Son Joe Junior becomes passionately involved in union activity, while nephew Pauli, a street kid in Berlin, travels to America and finds his calling in moving pictures. What I love about John Jakes is how he showcases the major issues, struggles and viewpoints of a time period through his characters, but still manages to give the characters depth and allow the reader to connect and relate to them. Once you read Homeland, you'll be anxious to pick up the sequel, American Dreams, to see what happens to the second generation of the Crowns!