A Unique People in a Unique Land: Essays on American Jewish History

Edward Shapiro

Published by Academic Studies Press 2021

A Unique People in a Unique Land

Essays on American Jewish History

Edward Shapiro

In the series Studies in Orthodox Judaism

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781644697405

Overview
Contents

About this book

This diverse collection of essays explore the unique history of Jews in America and the various ways in which they have defined their identities both as Americans and as Jews. The topics of the essays range from sports and business to religion and business.

Author / Editor information

Shapiro Edward :

Edward S. Shapiro received his Ph.D. in history from Harvard University and is Professor Emeritus of History at Seton Hall University. His books include A Time for Healing: American Jewry Since World War II, We Are Many: Reflections on American Jewish History and Identity, and Crown Heights: Blacks, Jews, and the 1991 Brooklyn Riot.Edward S. Shapiro received his Ph.D. in history from Harvard University and is Professor Emeritus of History at Seton Hall University. His books include A Time for Healing: American Jewry Since World War II, We Are Many: Reflections on American Jewish History and Identity, and Crown Heights: Blacks, Jews, and the 1991 Brooklyn Riot.

Reviews

“A trenchant observer of American Jewish life, Edward S. Shapiro displays his wide-ranging virtuosity in these essays which span from the era of World War II to our own time. The Jewishness of Sidney Hook, the Jews of South Florida, the riots in Crown Heights, antisemitism, capitalism, conservatism, religion, secularism, Jewish identity—all this and more may be found in this jam-packed volume, the product of a unique scholar’s career-long fascination with ‘a unique people in a unique land.’”

—Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University; author of American Judaism: A History

“Over the course of four decades, the scholarship of Edward Shapiro has illuminated the American Jewish experience. His books and articles have authoritatively explored its main themes—the dimensions of upward mobility, the benefits of an open society and free enterprise, the challenge to traditional religion, the peculiar voting habits, and above all the enigma of identity amid historical change. But Shapiro has also demonstrated a knack for uncovering the features of the past that other writers have gotten wrong or barely noticed—whether the rancid antisemitism that once disfigured politics in Mississippi or the prominent Jewish ownership of professional sports teams. The essays in this welcome volume exhibit a remarkable range of interests and a sustained curiosity, conveyed in engaging prose. Yet amid the bewildering variety of Jewish self-definition and self-expression, Shapiro shows special attention to the ways that past and present interact, so that the Jewish community has carved a distinctive niche in American society.”

—Stephen Whitfield, Professor of American Studies (Emeritus), Brandeis University; author of In Search of American Jewish Culture

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	VI
Part One. Identity
Chapter 1 The Mystery of American Jewish Identity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 2 The Jewishness of the New York Intellectuals: Sidney Hook, a Test Case Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
Chapter 3 Will Herberg’s Protestant—Catholic—Jew: A Critique Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	38
Chapter 4 The Impact of War: America’s Jews and World War II Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
Part Two. Religion
Chapter 5 A Shtetl in the Sun: Orthodoxy in Southern Florida Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
Chapter 6 The Crisis of Conservative Judaism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
Chapter 7 Modern Orthodoxy in Crisis: A Test Case Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	108
Chapter 8 The Decline and Rise of Secular Judaism in America Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
Part Three. Antisemitism
Chapter 9 John Higham and American Antisemitism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
Chapter 10 The World Labor Athletic Carnival of 1936: An American Anti-Nazi Protest Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
Chapter 11 The Approach of War: Congressional Isolationism and Antisemitism, 1939-1941 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	169
Chapter 12 Antisemitism Mississippi Style Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	191
Chapter 13 The Educational Crusade of George W. Armstrong Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	212
Chapter 14 Interpretations of the Crown Heights Riot Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235
Chapter 15 The Cognitive Dissonance of American Jews Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	262
Part Four. Business
Chapter 16 Jewish Historians and American Capitalism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	273
Chapter 17 The Absent American Jewish Business Mogul Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
Chapter 18 From Participant to Owner: The Role of Jews in Contemporary American Sports Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	298
Part Five. Politics
Chapter 19 Waiting for Righty? An Interpretation of the Political Behavior of American Jews Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	319
Chapter 20 Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and American Jewish History Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	343
Chapter 21 Jewish Intellectuals and the American Conservative Movement Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	356
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	374

Language: English
Publisher: Academic Studies Press
Audience: College/higher education;Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 416
Keywords: Jewish identity; Conservative; secular; Orthodox Judaism; antisemitism; moguls; Holocaust; World War II; athletes; business; United States; diaspora; religious freedom; historiography; ethnicity

eBook

Published: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 9781644697405