Riis, Jacob. The Making of an American by Jacob Riis. Autobiography.

Macmillan, March 1902, 5th printing [first issued in November 1901]. [Autobiography of one of the pioneers of social documentary photography. Includes images from Riis' earlier book, How the Other Half Lives.]  Summary:

The Making of an American (1901) is the autobiography of Jacob Riis, the pioneering muckraking journalist and social reformer best known for his groundbreaking photographic expose of New York City tenements, How the Other Half Lives.

The book chronicles his transformation from a penniless Danish immigrant into a prominent American citizen, serving as a personal companion piece to his social activism.

Core Themes & Narrative Arc

• The Immigrant Experience: Riis describes his immigration from Denmark to the United States in 1870 at age 21, driven by a broken heart after being rejected by his childhood love, Elisabeth. He details his early years of intense hardship, poverty, and near-starvation, during which he worked odd jobs, slept in police lodging houses, and experienced the harsh realities of the American urban underclass firsthand.

• Finding a Calling in Journalism: The narrative shifts as Riis finds his footing in journalism, eventually becoming a police reporter for the New York Tribune and the Evening Sun. Stationed in Mulberry Street, the heart of New York’s slums, his personal history of poverty fuels a passionate crusade to expose the horrific living conditions of the city's tenement districts.

• Partnership with Theodore Roosevelt: A central highlight of the book is Riis's close friendship and professional alliance with Theodore Roosevelt, who served as New York City Police Commissioner in the 1890s. United by a desire for civic reform, the two men toured the slums at night, shutting down corrupt police lodging houses and implementing major sanitation and housing overhauls.

• The Definition of "American": For Riis, becoming an American was not a matter of birth, but of adoption and civic duty. The climax of his personal journey comes with his hard-won financial success, his eventual marriage to Elisabeth, and his profound pride in achieving the American Dream while actively working to make that dream accessible to other immigrants.

Historical Significance

While How the Other Half Lives diagnosed America's urban crises, The Making of an American provided the hopeful antidote. It stands as a classic text on assimilation, illustrating how personal struggle can be channeled into a lifelong mission for social justice and civic responsibility.

Copies available:

• Nonauthorial 1902 gift inscription on flyleaf, blue cloth binding with gilt lettering, worn extremities, otherwise very good, custom made polyester jacket. 
• Also available, 1966 Harper Torchback paperback edition with biographical essay by Roy Lubove, worn ex-library paperback, reading copy with illustrations higher quality than in the 1902 edition.