Customer Reviews

Growing Up Jewish in America: An Oral History

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===Growing up Jewish IN AMERICA

THIS IS a fine book for goyim. Being gentile, as far as I know, I can say that.

One never knows exactly what one's roots might include. As Leon Toubin comments on a Texas community in this entertaining oral history, "We were probably all Jewish once, but we're Lutheran now." The complexities of American life make this book fun and often pure poetry. Some vital turning points come to life in a just few sentences. Zipporah Marans, whose father was an Orthodox rabbi in Raleigh, N.C., during World War II, recalls G.I.s "would have three days' leave before being shipped overseas. Their girlfriends would come down, and my father would marry them in our living room. My mother, sister, a soldier friend and I would each hold a corner of the chuppa, the wedding canopy."

St. Louis Jews - really, all Jews west of the Appalachians - might feel a bit slighted in this study. David Bisno talks about the divide between Jews of German and Russian descent in St. Louis, but he doesn't offer many details. Ansaie Sokoloff recalls his family leaving St. Louis for Cheyenne, Wyo. Other communities in the chapter about the Midwest and West include Detroit, Duluth, Omaha, Pittsburgh and San Fernando. It reminded me of a gas station attendant in New Jersey who noticed my Missouri plates and said, "I have a cousin who went to school in South Dakota." New York and environs get the bulk of attention here. That's fine, but what I find particularly fascinating are more detailed accounts of unique or remote communities and families struggling to maintain traditions.

The Frommers' book has many moments, too, where one senses the effort necessary to maintain tradition and faith in our time. Though no characters develop in this text, one hears many fragments of fascinating memories, which together present an insightful portrait of vibrant communities and individuals.

"In another popular history, the Frommers 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."

: Compilers of two previous oral histories, the Frommers (It Happened in Brooklyn) here mix the experiences of some 100 interviewees-a good fraction of them writers or Jewish community officials-into 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.

Authored by the popular team of Myrna and Harvey Frommer, this a wonderful collection of anecdotal history. It covers momentous events and intimate moments spanning decades of Jewish-American thinking from every sector of the country. Its richness is doled out in small, poignant bites of personal history frequently focusing on a fading European past and compromises and dilemmas with a gentile world. There is heartbreak but also a grand humor.

"Childhood memories of Jewish men and women of all ages from across the country. They describe their urban and suburban experiences and discuss long-held traditions and religious rituals. Presents a kaleidoscopic view of twentieth-century life from immigrant and minority perspectives."

"IF YOU SOMEHOW MISSED THIS BOOK WHEN HARCOURT BRACE FIRST PUBLISHED IT IN 1995, HERE'S ANOTHER CHANCE. IF YOU GREW UP JEWISH IN AMERICA, IT WILL ENLIGHTEN YOU AND MAKE YOU REMEMBER. IT'S A WARM, WONDERFUL MEMORY BOOK OF LIFE AS IT USED TO BE -- ALL OVER AMERICA -- IN A MUCH LESS COMPLICATED TIME. . . BITTERSWEET IN PLACES, IT IS A DELIGHT."

The book provides a fascinating look at Jewish life. We learn about families, school activities, religious life, and anything else the people felt like discussing. All areas of the country are represented as well as all aspects of Judaism. Hundreds of personal photos add much to to the histories. A good glossary explains the various Yiddish terms used throughout."

===Growing up Jewish IN AMERICA

THIS IS a fine book for goyim. Being gentile, as far as I know, I can say that.

One never knows exactly what one's roots might include. As Leon Toubin comments on a Texas community in this entertaining oral history, "We were probably all Jewish once, but we're Lutheran now." The complexities of American life make this book fun and often pure poetry. Some vital turning points come to life in a just few sentences. Zipporah Marans, whose father was an Orthodox rabbi in Raleigh, N.C., during World War II, recalls G.I.s "would have three days' leave before being shipped overseas. Their girlfriends would come down, and my father would marry them in our living room. My mother, sister, a soldier friend and I would each hold a corner of the chuppa, the wedding canopy."

St. Louis Jews - really, all Jews west of the Appalachians - might feel a bit slighted in this study. David Bisno talks about the divide between Jews of German and Russian descent in St. Louis, but he doesn't offer many details. Ansaie Sokoloff recalls his family leaving St. Louis for Cheyenne, Wyo. Other communities in the chapter about the Midwest and West include Detroit, Duluth, Omaha, Pittsburgh and San Fernando. It reminded me of a gas station attendant in New Jersey who noticed my Missouri plates and said, "I have a cousin who went to school in South Dakota." New York and environs get the bulk of attention here. That's fine, but what I find particularly fascinating are more detailed accounts of unique or remote communities and families struggling to maintain traditions.

The Frommers' book has many moments, too, where one senses the effort necessary to maintain tradition and faith in our time. Though no characters develop in this text, one hears many fragments of fascinating memories, which together present an insightful portrait of vibrant communities and individuals.

A heightened sense of how wide the American Jewish spectrum can be," --

GROWIN UP JEWISH IN AMERICA : AN ORAL HISTORY, is a fine piece of history. But it is sad, it is ponerous -- it is SERIOUS!!!! Lighten up a bit, gang -- this IS America, after all. If books such as "Growing Up Catholic In America", and "The Official Preppy Handbook", take a light, non-serious, self-mocking approach -- why can't Jews? Too much sadness is not good for one's mental health, after all. And this can lead to too much chicken soup -- and, if you are very unlucky, to a wife, mother, or grand-mother who FORGETS to skim off the fat....leading to not only mental problems, but physical ones as well. Get a little relaxed, please -- being laid-back is so much more fun than being tense and serious ALL the time! The difference between the Gentile genuises and the Jewish genuises in the movie, "Quiz Show" always eluded me -- but I was glad to see this true-to-life difference portrayed -- even though I never could quite describe it....until now.

most Gentile geniuses, (and most other Gentiles), seemto have FUN....with knowledge, with parties....with LIFE itself. Most Jewish geniuses, (and most other Jews), seem always to be rushed, worried....' see...ree...us...". Of course, being happy ALL the time is almost as bad as being serious -- ALL the time. There ARE bad guys, (and gals), around -- of the anti-Semite AND the Bernard Madoff variety. But, hey -- even anti-Semitism and prejudice aren't QUITE as bad as it was, Those 10 million people -- 6 million Jews, 4 million others), didn't die in vain -- the world, one hopes, finally LEARNED something from what hatred really can do. Hopefully it will continue to remmeber -- for at LEAST the next fifty years or so....or, (hopefully!), forever? Loosen up, laugh a litttle.

At the beginning of the 21st century -- depsite all of our undeniable problems -- people of the Earth, (and perhaps, particularly Jews), have a LOT to be grateful for, and happy about.

So, loosen up a bit, OK? Smile -- and, if you don't know how, maybe borrow, (or buy!) copies of "Growing Up Catholic", and "The Official Preppy Handbook"!

Go....with the flow!!!! : )