John Jake's Homeland: A Review Homeland, John Jake's formidable novel about the final explosive events of the nineteenth century, in the first in a series that will focus attention on a new "Jakes" family, the Crowns. Multiple characters and settings at the norm for Jakes; however, this story rivets primary attention on Paul Crown, a young German immigrant. Paul leaves behind a Germany of cholera, poverty, and political upheaval only to face problems of equal magnitude in America. Undaunted by a difficult ocean crossing, Paul arrives at Ellis Island penniless but naively optimistic about his future. He makes his weary way to the opulent home