There are literally millions of Americans who claim some French heritage in their ancestry, due in large part to the proliferation of the French Canadians who migrated to the U.S. from Quebec and the Canadian Maritime Provences. America's Industrial Revolution stirred the overwhelming bulk of these migrants to seek work in New England textile mills and factories while a terrible depression was riveting their Canadian homeland. Although bits and pieces of the rich French history in North American are available in scores of mostly out of print books and academic literature, "Steeples and Smokestackes" is the only currently available, or at least, most recently published, English language anthology on a specific group called "Franco-Americans". Author Claire Quintal has dedicated most of her academic career in study of this very proud ethnic group that are responsible for sustaining the industrial infrastructure of New England since before the time of the American Civil War, during World War I and through World War II. The Franco-American culture is special by its history, language and strong dedication to Roman Catholicism even in the face of harsh discrimination from New England's staunch Protestant hierarchy. Besides all of the above, "Steeples and Smokestacks" is a very good read, enjoyable, to the point and, speaking from a cultural point of view, "C'est un tres bon livre".