Inventing Great Neck: Jewish Identity and the American Dream [Hardcover]

Judith S. Goldstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

Great Neck, New York, is one of America’s most fascinating suburbs. Settled by the Dutch in the 1600s, generations have been attracted to this once quiet enclave for its easy access to New York City and its tranquil setting by the Long Island Sound. This illustrious suburb has also been home to a number of film and theatrical luminaries from Groucho Marx and Oscar Hammerstein to comedian Alan King and composer Morton Gould. Famous writers who have lived there include Ring Lardner and of course, F. Scott Fitzgerald, who used Great Neck as the inspiration for his classic novel The Great Gatsby.

Although frequently recognized as the home to well-known personalities, Great Neck is also notable for the conspicuous way it transformed itself from a Gentile community, to a mixed one, and, finally, in the 1960s, to one in which Jews were the majority. In Inventing Great Neck, Judith Goldstein tells this lesser known story. The book spans four decades of rapid change, beginning with the 1920s. Throughout the early half of the century, Great Neck was a leader in the reconfiguration of the American suburb, serving as a playground of rich estates for New York’s aristocracy. Throughout the forties, it boasted one of the country’s most outstanding school systems, served as the temporary home to the United Nations, and gave significant support to the civil rights movement. During the 1950s, however, the suburb diverged from the national norm when the Gentile population began to lose its dominant position.

Inventing Great Neck is about the allure of suburbia, including the institutions that bind it together, and the social, economic, cultural, and religious tensions that may threaten its vibrancy. Anyone who has lived in a suburban town, particularly one in the greater metropolitan area, will be intrigued by this rich narrative, which illustrates not only Jewish identity in America but the struggle of the American dream itself through the heart of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Judith S. Goldstein, a Great Neck native, is the founder and executive director of Humanity in Action, a foundation that sponsors educational programs for university students in Europe and the United States. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081353884X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813538846
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #575,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Golden Suburb, December 11, 2006

By 

Mary L. Rooney (NYC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inventing Great Neck: Jewish Identity and the American Dream (Hardcover)

I just finished reading Inventing Great Neck, and I loved it. This was all completely new to me. I thought that Great Neck was just another suburb - I didn't realize that it had grown into a predominantly Jewish suburb.
It was fascinating reading on so many levels.

The book's magic lies in the thumbnail sketches of the people who lived in Great Neck. Eddie Cantor's was riveting, as was Louise Eldridge's, who was part of the old guard. I loved that old Russell Eldridge could turn Saddle Rock, his estate, into a village to avoid interference. Those were the days. As for Cantor, what a miracle he was. His mother died in childbirth, his father two years later, and he was raised by a sixty-two year old grandmother. The fortune he made, how proud he was of his incredible home, how SAFE he felt in the hands of Nathan S. Jonas, his friend who built a series of immigrant banks into Manufacturer's Trust, and how it all crashed with the Depression. Sic transit Gloria.

The 40's and 50's were Great Neck's glory years. Like all suburbs, Great Neck grew richer as the cities grew poorer. The American dream was in the suburbs: ownership of a single family home, a church or temple in which to worship, money to shop, men who earned enough money for their wives not to work. Women had more time on their hands and could become deeply involved in community organizations - schools, churches, temples, hospitals. It was in 1953 that North Shore Hospital was built. The creation of this hospital makes for fascinating reading. It is one of the great stories of the book. What a crew: Jock Whitney, his wife Betsey (who was a Cushing) and his sister Joan Payson, and Tex and Jinx McCrary joined forces with Jack Hausman and Willie Cohen to build one of the great hospitals. In an odd historical twist, it was Whitney's friendship with David O. Selznick and his interest in Hollywood that made Whitney one of the few WASPS that were not anti Semitic.

By the end of the 50's and the beginning of the 60's, the Jewish majority finally materialized. And the changes of the 60's infiltrated the golden suburb of Great Neck, as they did the nation: the anti war movement, the woman's movement, the influx of conservative Jews which changed the profile of religious Jews, divorce, conspicuous consumption, excessive development.

I loved the book. I am barely doing it justice. There was so much rich detail, so much thoughtful honesty in reportage, so many wonderful stories as the Jews of Great Neck realized (perhaps more than any other immigrant group) the American dream.

I am a city person with an innate prejudice against suburbia, but if there MUST be a suburb, let it be Great Neck between 1920 and 1960.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My life, November 10, 2006

By 

Henry Yusen (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inventing Great Neck: Jewish Identity and the American Dream (Hardcover)

This could have been my biography. Moved to GN in 1929. Lived at 24 5th street. Later became Bond Street. Went to Kensington School and Mrs. Pingree was my 6th grade teacher(The Best). Was one of the few Jews in a very gentile neighborhood. Saw the strike at GNHS in 1939. There was one Jewish Teacher in GNHS, Mr. Milton Meyers. Everybody wanted to be in his class (History). Grew up graduated HS, Navy, College. Saw Saddle Rock, Harbor Hills and Strathmore built. Saw the problems that the gentiles had withv Jews. Was in business aftr the war in Great Neck and saw it develop. My daughter was one of the first babies born at North Shore Hospital. Beulah Brandt (1st marriage in Temple Beth-el) was my first cousin and I was there. Rabbi Rudin married my wife Muriel Spear and me. I could go on and on, however one thing the moving force behind the NS Hospital was named Danny Udell not Udall.
I retired in 2002 and moved to Virginia, however I still belong to Temple Beth El. and maintain my relationships. I loved the book and couln't put it down. It was a socialogical masterpiece.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GN, I hardly knew you, December 9, 2006

By 

Moreson Kaplan (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inventing Great Neck: Jewish Identity and the American Dream (Hardcover)

Having been connected to GN directly (1933-1973) and indirectly (1973-2006) for nearly three-quarters of a century, I thought I knew pretty much all about its modern history. Wrong! Judith Goldstein has done scholarly, profound research and written a highly readable, thoroughly detailed and documented account of the growth and development of GN through its most critical 40-plus years. I literally couldn't put it down and in the reading I learned a huge amount, even about events and trends in which I actually took part. The highlight for me is the chapter on domestic servants and the fact that our family's "Ruthie" Helen Palmer is one of those featured. It was a privilege to actually witness Ms Goldstein's live-action research as she interviewed my late mother, Beti, for well over two hours - and that is obviously just a tiny fraction of what went into this work. I cannot praise this excellent book nearly enough, so I recommend that readers of this review read it themselves to appreciate the interesting, frequently glamorous history of this wonderful town.