Jacob's Well

Through research, historical narratives, and storytelling, historian and author Joseph A. Amato demonstrates how Americans with mixed ancestry and common origins might produce truly extraordinary family histories as he follows his poor, obscure, and truly "mongrel" family through seven generations, revealing their place in the key events of America's past. Using powerful family traditions to clarify his personal connection to the larger stories of our nation, Amato advocates for the power of the history closest to hand in building personal identity and resisting mass culture.

Joseph A. Amato is professor emeritus of history and rural and regional studies at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota.