Description
Book SynopsisProvides a portrait of East European and American Jewish life in the immigrant generation at the turn of the twentieth century.
Trade ReviewA treasure trove of Yiddish autobiographical gems available for the first time in English. These heartfelt and moving narratives reveal the rich, complex and multi-textured experience of the East European Jewish immigrant milieu. The masterful translations rendered by Cohen and Soyer capture the lyric, sophisticated and often times profound dimensions of the writers' contributions. To this considerable achievement, Cohen and Soyer add a valuable introductory essay and detailed notes that make the book accessible to students, researchers and thoughtful readers alike. This volume plugs a significant gap in the field of modern Jewish studies and belongs in every library collection, where it will update and complement classics like A Bintel Brief and World of Our Fathers -- Mark A. Raider,author of American Jewish Women and the Zionist Enterprise and The Plough Woman: Records of the Pioneer Women of Palestine
Cohen and Soyer have done a masterful job of collecting and translating these gripping immigrant narratives. A must read for anyone interested in immigration, American history, or the Jewish experience in America. -- Beth S. Wenger,Katz Family Chair in American Jewish History, University of Pennsylvania
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii A Note on Annotations and Transliteration xi Introduction: Yiddish Social Science and Jewish Immigrant Autobiography Jocelyn Cohen and Daniel Soyer * 1 Success or Failure? Minnie Goldstein * 2 Why I Came to America Ben Reisman * 3 I Have Nothing to Complain About Shmuel Krone * 4 Why I Left My Old Home and What I Have Accomplished in America Aaron Domnitz * 5 What Drove Me to America and My Experiences in Europe and America Rose Schoenfeld * 6 My Future Is in America Rose Silverman * 7 The Movies Pale in Comparison Bertha Fox * 8 Why I Left the Old Country and What I Have Accomplished in America Chaim Kusnetz 9 I Haven't Lost Anything by Coming to America Minnie Kusnetz Glossary Index About the Editors
