WHY Did Our Families Do That by George Kroloff explores the question most family histories never answer: why our ancestors made the choices they did, and how those choices still shape us today. Instead of recreating ancestors’ lives, the book documents the forces that affected them and continues to influence later generations. It brings together stories, reminiscences, and historical context that rarely make it into family conversations, even though they explain far more than names and dates ever could.

Through vivid storytelling and research, Kroloff traces immigration journeys, Ellis Island surprises, labor movements, Orthodox Jewish and Catholic environments, European land barons, Manhattan power brokers, ego, survival, secrets, and corruption. From immigrant trains to labor battles and yes, bribes, the book reveals how circumstance, pressure, and opportunity shaped everyday decisions that quietly echo into the present. WHY Did Our Families Do That invites readers to understand their family history not as distant past, but as a living influence that still matters today.