Dale Hanson Bourke
InterVarsity Press, Downers
Grove, Ill. 152 pages
There is a newspaper column focused on television with the tagline “We watch the shows so you don’t have to.” One might say something similar about Dale Hanson Bourke: she does the research that most of us don’t have the time (or desire) to do and makes us know why it’s important. She does the research on the most difficult issues that drive a wedge between people, in part, due to ignorance of the basic facts. The facts are often disputed and depend heavily on ideology. Bourke’s great skill is her research that digs deep and wide enough to bring clarity to contested “facts on the ground.” She has done this with Israel-Palestine and HIV-AIDS. Now she brings her skill to the immigration debate. This book comes complete with charts and photos that illuminate the pressing issues. The chapter titles are “frequently asked questions” with answers that include well-researched facts. The careful reader will be better informed and able to enter the debate with intelligence about the consequences of particular positions. It is possible to take a complex subject and break it down for better understanding of what is at stake in the debate. This is Bourke’s gift and she has done a masterful job. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be more intelligent about the fate of immigrant neighbors.
