In the Catskills (Hardcover)

by Professor Phil Brown (Editor) "Ontario and Western Railroad Station in Liberty, 1920s..." (more)
Key Phrases: bungalow colony life, yearning heifer, bungalow life, New York, Miss Onderdonk, Sullivan County (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The culture of the Catskills the wide range of hotels, bungalows, rooming houses and elaborate resorts in the mountains in New York State that catered to a mainly Jewish clientele has become, in the broadest sense, American culture: Danny Kaye, Milton Berle, Joey Adams, Mel Brooks, Sid Caesar, Jerry Lewis, Tony Curtis and many others got their start there. This anthology of 34 essays, memoirs, fictions and songs (illustrated with wonderful, evocative photographs) conveys some of the religious, social, historic, sexual and ethnic complexity that "the mountains," as it was called, embodied. Brown (Catskill Culture: A Mountain Rat's Memoirs of the Great Jewish Resort Area) has been the unofficial historian of this part of the Jewish-American experience, and this anthology gives a nice, if superficial, taste of the literature. There are engaging popular memoirs (like an excerpt from Joey Adams's 1966 autobiography, The Borscht Belt, and surprising fiction pieces, such as one from Abraham Cahan's classic 1927 novel, The Rise of David Levinsky, as well as the lyrics of the 1941 song "Shoot the Shtrudel to Me Yudel!" which was dedicated to Yudel Slutzsky, owner of the Arrowhead Lodge. While Brown reprints some fascinating historical material, such as Abraham Lavender and Clarence Steinberg's "Jewish Farmers of the Catskills," which charts the start of the Jewish presence in the area and the beginnings of the resort culture, many of the pieces a chapter from Herman Wouk's Marjorie Morningstar and one from Allegra Goodman's Kaaterskill Falls are easily available and add little. This is a great look at the history of Catskill culture for readers new to the material, but those looking for more depth will be disappointed.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
Phil Brown's edited collection is a warm, charming, and valuable work. Much of the writing is simply gorgeous, a mixture of meticulously remembered details and the wisdom of the passing years. -- Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 367 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (June 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231123604
• ISBN-13: 978-0231123600
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #985,770 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking for the Catskills, December 5, 2002

By A Customer

If someone would only perfect a time machine, I'd rush back to the Catskills for a birds-eye view of places I've only read about or seen in movies. Alas, I must steep myself in books to flesh out a daydream of a past I never had. "In the Catskills" succeeds beautifully with its essays concerning every aspect of a unique Jewish American experience. My one disappointment - and it's a big one - is the photographs. I was hoping for a pictoral smorgasborg, filled with color photos of brochures and other memorabilia and many, many more photos of the hotels, performers, workers and guests. There are some jewels here, but some additional and higher-quality glossy photos would've worked wonders. All in all, though, a swell book!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shwenga. enjoy the Catskills from your air conditioned couch, July 12, 2002

By	Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

How exciting... a book by the guy who runs those Catskills Institute workshops each August! I attended one a few years back, and I still have the audio tapes frlom some of the lectures. Collected here are 34 essays, excerpts from memoirs, songs, and stories of life in the Catskills in the Twentieth Century. The book includes the words and music to Shoot the Shtrudel to Me Yudel (1941) which was dedicated to Yudel Slutzky; an excerpt from Joey Adam's 1966 autobiography on the Borsht Belt; a reprint of "Jewish Farmers of the Catskills"; and even a piece from Cahan's "The Rise of David Levinsky." The book has seven main sections: history; boarding house, bungalow, and kuchalayn life; hotel life; entertainment; romance; religion; and food. Additional standouts include an excerpt from Kaaterskill Falls (by Allegra Goodman); I. B. Singer's "The Yearning Heifer"; Thane Rosenbaum's "Bingo in the Bungalow"; Herman Wouk's "Marjorie at South Wind"; and Tania Grossinger's "Growing Up at Grossinger's." The book is also filled with photos of Catskill's life, signage, a rate sheet, and even old hotel menus.