When did your Polish ancestors immigrate, where did they leave, why did they leave, how did they get here? Steve Szabados is a wonderful resource. He hopes you find the answer to some of these questions in this book. This book discusses the history of Poland and gives some insights into possible answers to the questions about your ancestors' immigration. All three Polish partitions are covered, and the material will hopefully clear up your confusion why your Polish ancestors listed that they were born in other countries on early U.S. documents.

 The book also presents brief histories of most of the ports that were used by Polish immigrants for departure from Europe and the ports where they arrived. Also covered are details of life in steerage during the voyage and the process of examination of the immigrants to gain admittance to the United States.