From 1865 to 1920 thousands of French Canadians immigrated to New England from Quebec and Acadia; today Franco-Americans are the third largest ancestry group in New England, outnumbered only by the English and the Irish. In his account of their history and culture, Gerard Brault follows the migration of French Canadians to New England, their experience as a community in the United States, and the many aspects of their cultural legacy: literature and folklore, art and architecture, education and politics. Brault has ably managed to weave the dual history of French Canadians -- Acadians and Québécois -- into the fabric of his account of the history and development of Franco-American culture and its contemporary situation. Drawing upon historical works and the literature of the period, the author provides a detailed description of early life in Quebec and Acadia and analyses the forces which led to migration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Brault is himself an American of French-Canadian descent. A brief account of his own family history provides important insights into the experience of being Franco-American, and offers a perspective from which it is possible to understand how members of this group can feel close to Canada and to France while remaining solidly and patriotically American.