Full Description
Originally published in 1976, this monumental volume is a study of one of the major migrations of modern times - the result of which has been significantly to alter the history of the United States and of the whole Middle East. In researching this volume, the author drew on many different sources, including the rich materials of the Yiddish press and the vast number of memoirs written in both English and Yiddish. The book traces the historical, cultural and social experience of the immigrant Jews to New York in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who came mainly from Eastern Europe. It covers many aspects of Jewish life in New York - the early years on the East side, Jewish children in American schools, the growth of Yiddish-speaking socialist movements and trade unions, the passion for learning which animated this culture and Yiddish culture in its many manifestations.
Contents
Part 1. Toward America 1. Origins 2. Departure and Arrival Part 2. The East Side 3. The Early Years, 1881-1900 4. Disorder and Early Progress 5. Slum and Shop 6. The Way They Lived Then 7. The Restlessness of Learning 8. Growing Up in the Ghetto 9. Jewish Labor, Jewish Socialism 10. Breakup of the Left 11. Getting into American Politics 12. American Responses Part 3: The Culture of Yiddish 13. The Yiddish Word 14. The Yiddish Theatre 15. The Scholar-Intellectuals 16. The Yiddish Press Part 4: Dispersion 17. Journeys Outward 18. At Ease in America?
