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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | 973.04924 GRO | Searching... Unknown |
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Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Compilers of two previous oral histories, the Frommers (It Happened in Brooklyn) here mix the experiences of some 100 intervieweesa good fraction of them writers or Jewish community officialsinto a rich mosaic portrait. They cover much ground, from life in New England (``a benignly non-Jewish environment''), the isolating South and the comforting frenzy of New York. Interviewees discuss politicization, the impact of the Holocaust, the effects of Zionism and the ongoing tensions about assimilation and anti-Semitism. Some anecdotes are arresting, and all are quite short. Thus, this book is an accessible introduction to the varieties of the American Jewish experience, but the reader is reminded that there exists a rich body of reportage, fiction and memoir that delves far deeper into such stories. Photos. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A hodgepodge of musings about mostly run-of-the-mill childhoods. Oral historians who lack the gifts of a Studs Terkel have to make difficult choices. They can go with unusual or famous people and sacrifice the representative sampling. Or they can interview dozens of average joes and end up with a pretty dull book. Unfortunately, the Frommers (It Happened in Brooklyn, not reviewed, etc.) went with the second option. Not that there aren't a few extraordinary characters: Meyer Lesser left home at 13 and crossed the country as a hobo during the Depression. Never denying he was Jewish often got him into trouble; but it also turned out to be a boon, since he could always count on charity from Jewish communities. Al Lewis grew up on a horse farm in upstate New York--a strange business for a Jewish family, and even stranger in that the Lewises had been raising horses for five or more generations back in Germany; Al later went into vaudeville. A few minor celebrities make appearances, such as New York Times columnist Frank Rich, authors Neil Postman and Bel Kaufman. But for the most part, the people speaking in these pages scream ``ordinary,'' and nobody is given enough airtime to provide the detail and analysis that would make an examination of these lives profound. Some experienced anti-Semitism; some did not. Some felt excluded by other Jews (Sephardic rabbi Marc Angel describes his experience with the Seattle Ashkenazic community); some felt most at home when with other Jews. They describe their feelings about the Holocaust, about bar mitzvahs, about America. Some of these stories told at greater length could have formed an interesting document; but this badly organized (neither chronological, nor consistently thematic) and piecemeal conglomeration is unenlightening. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen)
Booklist Review
The most compelling reason to study twentieth-century Jewish life in America is to hear and read the wealth of amazing stories, vivid anecdotes, memories, and wisdom, a diverse array of which the Frommers have collected. The participants in this oral history range from the grandson of a Civil War veteran to a journalist who was born during Israel's Six Day War. Some of those who discuss their lives are well known, such as media critic Neil Postman, but each person's stories enlighten. An account of riding freight cars as a teenager during the Great Depression and another about farming in South Dakota during the 1950s are as revealing as the more common descriptions of New York's Lower East Side. There's even a story about the discovery of Ivory Soap. Moreover, the Frommers find several intriguing threads that link the contributors' outlooks, despite differences in age and geography. Chapters about the Holocaust, communal ties, and rituals reveal that traditions have been maintained amid the temptations of comfortable assimilation. This thought-provoking amalgam should please ethnography students of all stripes. --Aaron Cohen
Library Journal Review
In another popular history, the Frommers (It Happened in Brooklyn, LJ 11/1/93) have produced a breezy but informative look at Jewish childhood in 20th-century America. What makes this book tick is the wide variety of people profiled and their unique life stories. They show what it is like to be a Jewish child in various geographical regions in various times and how anti-Semitism is a common experience to all. And they show how even Jews brought up in orphanages or residing temporarily in refugee camps can find creative expression for their experiences. In many ways this is a reassuring book. The interviewees are not all of one Jewish movement or outlook, and yet most have a positive Jewish identity. The only criticism is that the reader would like to hear more about a number of the truly remarkable people illuminated here. This easily digested book will circulate well in medium-sized libraries serving a Jewish or diverse clientele.Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., Ill. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
