Miss America, 1945: Bess Myerson and the Year That Changed Our Lives [Paperback]

Susan Dworkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 1999

First time in paperback, this unique biography and cultural history is based on History extensive research and interviews with more than one hundred witnesses from the period. Acclaimed novelist and playwright Susan Dworkin skillfully interweaves the absorbing first-person account of how Bess Myerson became the country’s first, and still only, Jewish Miss America in the same year that World War II ended, with a fresh portrait of what life was like for women and Jews in America in the 1930s and ’40s. Her tale of one girl’s coming of age in prefeminist America is “poignant and appealing . . . as much a cameo of an era as a work of biography.” —ALA Booklist

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Though a portrait of Myerson, who still has the distinction of being the only Jewish Miss America, this book is also part social history, as it explores the importance of that event, especially in light of the Allied defeat of the Third Reich. In her rise to national recognition, Myerson faced sexism and anti-Semitism but overcame it all. The 1987 text is complemented by numerous monochrome photos.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Miss America, 1945," reads with all the suspense not of a whodunit but of a who-won-it. -- James Kirkwood

A fascinating and thought-provoking book about 1945 as seen through the eyes of a Jewish girl who won a beauty title. It's about the boys coming home crippled from the war to a world not ready to deal with them. It's about Jewish Americans finding out about the horror of the Holocaust and how that made their Miss America a symbol of hope. It's about growing up poor and Jewish in New York City in the Depression. And it's also about Bess Myerson. -- Milwaukee Journal

A human and social portrait of immediate postwar days as seen from many different angles, each as American as cheesecake. It is a story of women, of Jews, of the Miss America pageant, and of Bess Myerson herself. -- Ellen Goodman, The New York Times Book Review

Intriguing social history. -- Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (December 27, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557043817
• ISBN-13: 978-1557043818
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,438,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A CROWNING SUCCESS. EVEN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, September 29, 2002

By 

Alan W. Petrucelli (THE ENTERTAINMENT REPORT (ALAN W. PETRUCELLI)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miss America, 1945: Bess Myerson and the Year That Changed Our Lives (Paperback)

There she goes, Miss America. And Bess Myerson was America's first (and still only) Jewish Miss America, an groundbreaking achievement that makes for riveting cultural and social history. This is not a new book --- it is the first paperback edition of Susan Dworkin's landmark collaborative biography that was first published in 1987, and it is still an important one. Dworkin weaves together oral histories, research and commentary to present not only a vivid portrait of pre-feminist America in the '30s and '40s, but one of Jews, of women, of the anti-Semitic riddled Miss America pageant and of Myerson's own life. A crowning success. Still.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superbly produced, highly recommended audiobook., April 4, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss America 1945: Bess Myerson and The Year That Changed Our Lives (Audio Cassette)

Ably narrated by Bess Myerson and Adam Grupper, Miss America 1945 is Susan Dworkin's engaging rendition of Bess Myerson's memoirs of her self as a naive Jewish girl from the Bronx, a scheming beauty pageant promoter, and rampant anti-Semitism within the context of a national post-war euphoria. What is particularly fascinating is Myerson's candid revelations of what it was like to be the first (and only) Jewish Miss America and her emergent political activism that resulted from her experiences with the beauty pageant. This abridged-by-the-author audiobook edition features flawless production values and has a running time of 5 hours, 10 minutes. Miss America 1945 is an ardently recommended addition to personal and library audiobook collections.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Year Of Change, June 12, 2007

By 

Mark A. Czubek (Marlton,NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miss America, 1945: Bess Myerson and the Year That Changed Our Lives (Paperback)

I just finished reading the book "Miss America,1945:Bess Myerson and the year that changed our lives" and i tell you it's very thought provoking book about what Bess Myerson went through during her reign as Miss America with all the prejudices that she went through.Although it's set in 1945,It's still holds true today.You can honestly say that from the end of World War 2 up to the late 1940's was an important period of change in America where a Jewish girl from the Bronx achieved the dream of every girl who wanted to win the crown of Miss America and two years later Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.Over all it's a great book and it's something that everyone must have for their book collection.