THEY COME TO THIS EXCEPTIONAL country in every generation by the millions, from every corner of the world, from every country. Th ey come in every generation for the same reason. Th e United States of America is not unlike the shining beacon that never dims, never fails to advertise its promise. For all who seek a better life, to breathe freer, to exercise the skills and the talents they possess, it is the country of fi rst choice for millions of immigrants. It has been this way since the founding of the republic. Th e promise held out to the newcomer has but one condition, loyalty in exchange for opportunity. Every immigrant enters into this time-honored contract with the words: I pledge allegiance to the fl ag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Implicit in the American promise is the opportunity to try and to try again; implicit is the understanding that to try and to fail is not the end, but merely the beginning of new hope, the freedom to try once more. Success in this exceptional country may mean all that one might hope for: fame and riches and a satisfaction to have been free enough to realize one s potential. In these pages, we have assembled portraits of a few among the millions of newcomers who succeeded to the utmost in what they chose to do. Exceptional in an exceptional country, their lives and their achievements are a refl ection of the larger light that drew them here.