An assessment of how race, class, and gender shape social identity in the United States. The author argues that changes in racial assignment have shaped the ways American Jews of different eras have constructed their own ethnoracial identities.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
A Respectable Effort:
Despite my low rating, I found this book to be very interesting and an important statement on the dual-identity that exists among Jewish-Americans. This book could also serve as an important resource to anyone who holds an interest in the changing social definitions of race & class during late 19th century/20th century America, and how the Jewish community fared amongst those changes. Dr. Brodkin did an excellent job at finding published examples to show this changing opinion of Jews. She also made a... more info
Junk:
This book may be the most unreadable piece of junk I have ever come across. This book has very little to say and says it poorly. The best part of the book is the title. It is totally downhill from there.
Shockingly poor book:
It is almost stunning what a lousy piece of scholarship this is, and so amusingly emblematic of the joke that is academic writing.
Entertaining and Seductive ... but...:
Resubmitted on 2/5/3
Dr. Brodkins' book is a fair synthesis of post -War racial scholarship and theorizing. Her personal approach is entertaining and seductive but far from being a compelling story -even though there are many aspects of the book for one to like.
As well, one can hardly disagree with her main theme that racism and racial identity is the single most important basis of a healthy self-concept in the contemporary American way of life. Moreover, one must take careful note of what she... more info
