Description
Book SynopsisExamines how Irish and Jewish Americans defined their place in a complex society.
The story of America is the story of the unlikely groups of immigrants brought together by their shared outsider status. Urban American life took much of its shape from the arrival of Irish and Jewish immigrants in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and Forged in America is the story of how Irish America and Jewish America collided, cooperated, and collaborated in the cities where they made their homes, all the while shaping American identity and nationhood as we know it.
Bringing together leading scholars in their fields, this volume sheds light on the underexplored histories of Irish and Jewish collaboration. While mutual antagonism was clearly evident, so too were opportunities for cooperation, as settled Irish immigrants served to model, mentor, and mediate for Jewish newcomers. Together, the chapters in this volume draw fascinating portraits that show mutuality in action and
Trade Review
Packed with surprises, this pioneering work of comparative scholarship in ethnic relations highlights many parallels between the two groups. -- Stephen Whitfield * Jewish Book Council *
An impressive contribution to the field of ethnic and immigration history. Forged in America is broad and diverse in the topics it considers and in the methods and approaches of the uniformly accomplished scholars involved. Readers will encounter new insights into a wide range of political and cultural topics connecting these two important groups. -- David Brundage, University of California, Santa Cruz
