Second Generation

'A novel of satisfying depth and breadth, written in good, clean, forceful prose.'—Chicago Tribune

Second Generation follows the Lavette immigrants through the challenges of the Great Depression and World War II.

Desperate for independence and scornful of the hypocrisy of the upper class, Barbara Lavette is determined to make her own way in the world. After abandoning her privileged life in San Francisco to disguise herself as a poor volunteer down on the wharf, Barbara journeys to France to report on the onset of Nazi terror and the coming of World War II.

But when tragedy strikes deep at the heart of the life Barbara has built for herself in Europe, she is forced to return to San Francisco heartbroken and alone and face the family she ran away from.

Continuing the epic Lavette family saga, Howard Fast's fascinating historical fiction vividly depicts the struggles to persevere in Immigrant America.