The Ghetto (Studies in Ethnicity)

by Louis Wirth (Author), Ronald H. Bayor (Editor), Hasia R. Diner (Introduction)

1 customer review

ISBN-13: 978-1560009832

ISBN-10: 1560009837

Why is ISBN important?

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

More Buying Choices

13 New from $36.79 9 Used from $12.90

22 used & new from $12.90

See All Buying Options

Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student

When The Ghetto first appeared seventy years ago, Bruno Lasker in the New York Times called it "the most informing general account of the cultural background and psychological development of the American Jew." Arguably, the book still occupies this special niche in ethnic studies. Hasia Diner's extensive new introduction, in itself an important contribution to the history of sociological ideas, points out that The Ghetto "stands in a class by itself as a piece of scholarship of the early twentieth century." That judgment stands.

The Ghetto traces back to the medieval era the Jewish immigrant colonies that have virtually disappeared from our modern cities—to be replaced by other ghettoes. Analytical as well as historical, Wirth's book lays bare the rich inner life hidden behind the drab exterior of the ghetto. The book describes the significant physical, social, and psychic influences of ghetto life upon the Jews. Wirth demonstrates that the economic life of the modern Jew still reflects the impress of the social isolation of ghetto life; at first self-imposed, later formalized, and finally imposed by others through a variety of extralegal mechanisms. He presents a faithful picture of an environment now largely vanished and illustrates a sociological method in so doing.

In his foreword to the book, Robert E. Park reminds us that the city is not merely an artifact but an organism. Its growth is often uncontrolled and undesigned. The forms it tends to assume are those which represent and correspond to the functions that it is called upon to perform. The Ghetto will be important to scholars in Jewish studies, the history of sociology, American ethnic history, and social history. This volume is the second in a series of studies in ethnicity edited by Ronald H. Bayor of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The Ghetto (Studies in Ethnicity)

Available from these sellers.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Gordon W. Allport

22

Paperback
$21.46
Nechama Tec

112

Paperback
$11.56
Jean-Paul Sartre

20

Paperback
$9.79
Harvey Warren Zorbaugh

1

Paperback
$34.00

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Not only does Louis Wirth's classic The Ghetto still make for fascinating reading, but Hasia Diner's insightful introduction to this new edition superbly contextualizes the book in the complex life of the man and in the historical moment in academic sociology and American Jewish life during which he wrote it."

—Lizabeth Cohen, Harvard University

"Few who have studied American Judaism, or for that matter almost any field of Jewish history, are totally unfamiliar with Louis Wirth's The Ghetto, a classic of both sociology and community history. . . . It would seem to me that his study of a Chicago Jewish neighborhood withstands the test of time and is an important contribution to all those involved in local settlement patterns, urban and neighborhood history, and community building in America."

—Seth Ward, University of Denver

About the Author

Louis Wirth (1897–1952) was both educated at the University of Chicago and, after a brief period at Tulane University, became a member of its Sociology Department for the remainder of his life. His work "Urbanism as a Way of Life" served as a paradigm in the intellectual history of the profession.

Hasia Diner is the Paul S. and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History; Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, History; and Director of the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History at New York University

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Product Details

Series: Studies in Ethnicity
Paperback: 306 pages
Publisher: Transaction Publishers (January 1, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1560009837
ISBN-13: 978-1560009832
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,196,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3805 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > Ethnic Studies
- #4127 in Books > History > World > Jewish
- #8579 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > United States

Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars

5 star		0%
4 star		100%
3 star		0%
2 star		0%
1 star		0%

Write a customer review

See all verified purchase reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Four Stars

ByJaime Reyeson July 6, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

great

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Pages with Related Products. See and discover other items: modern world history, utah history

Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Interest-Based Ads