My Future Is in America Autobiographies of Eastern European Jewish Immigrants

Name: My Future Is in America Autobiographies of Eastern European Jewish Immigrants
Price: 8.45 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780814716953

ISBN-10: 0814716954

ISBN-13: 9780814716953

Edition: 2008

Authors: Jocelyn Cohen, Daniel Soyer

List price: $30.00

30 day, 100% satisfaction guarantee!

Sell

Get cash fast!

Marketplace

4 new & used from $8.45

what's this?

Rush Rewards U
Members Receive:

You have reached 400 XP and carrot coins. That is the daily max!

Description:

"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. "This unique volumen introduces readers to the complex world of Yiddish-speaking immigrants while at the same time elucidating important themes and topics of interest to those in immigration studies, ethnic studies, labor history, and literary studies." Shamash "A 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 Enterpriseand The Plough Woman: Records of the Pioneer Women of Palestine In 1942, YIVO held a contest for the best autobiography by a Jewish immigrant on the theme "Why I Left the Old Country and What I Have Accomplished in America," Chosen from over two hundred entries, and translated from Yiddish, the nine life stories in My Future Is in America provide a compelling portrait of American Jewish life in the immigrant generation at the turn of the twentieth century. The writers arrived in America in every decade from the 1890s to the 1920s. They include manual workers, shopkeepers, housewives, communal activists, and professionals who came from all parts of Eastern Europe and ushered in a new era in American Jewish history. In their own words, the immigrant writers convey the complexities of the transition between the Old and New Worlds. An Introduction places the writings in historical and literary context, and annotations explain historical and cultural allusions made by the writers. This unique volume introduces readers to the complex world of Yiddish-speaking immigrants while at the same time elucidating important themes and topics of interest to those in immigration studies, ethnic studies, labor history, and literary studies. Published in conjunction with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Book details

List price: $30.00
Copyright year: 2008
Publisher: New York University Press
Publication date: 4/5/2008
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 329
Size: 5.98" wide x 9.02" long x 0.59" tall
Weight: 1.034
Language: English

Jocelyn Cohen is a research associate of YIVO’s Max Weinreich Center for Advanced Jewish Studies in New York.

Daniel Soyer is associate professor of history at Fordham University. He is the author of Jewish Immigrant Associations and American Identity in New York, 1880-1939.



Acknowledgments


A Note on Annotations and Transliteration


Introduction: Yiddish Social Science and Jewish Immigrant Autobiography




Success or Failure?




Why I Came to America




I Have Nothing to Complain About




Why I Left My Old Home and What I Have Accomplished in America




What Drove Me to America and My Experiences in Europe and America




My Future Is in America




The Movies Pale in Comparison




Why I Left the Old Country and What I Have Accomplished in America




I Haven't Lost Anything by Coming to America



Glossary


Index


About the Editors