A unique presentation of the history of Jewish life and culture in the United States over the past 500 years. Jews in America is a graphic history that uses the comic book format -- an artistic expression as American as jazz -- to depict five centuries of Jewish life in America. With a blend of humor, history, and old-fashoned sentimentality, the author illustrates the prominence of Jews in U.S. history from the time Columbus first set foot in the New World.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
not bad but a bit dated for younger readers:
There's a fair amount of information here, some accurate, some not so much and some that might be better called opinion. A book this size cant be encyclopedic but lots of material is covered. Unfortunately sometimes you get interested in an story, you turn the page and its on to something different. At the end I felt like I'd read a bunch of articles or a collection of one shots done for some other publication over time since there really isnt much of a narrative thread throughout. The pages are not... more info
Educational fun:
I read or viewed or both , a chapter called ' The History of the Jews in the Graphic Novel'. It told the story of a number of significant Jewish graphic artists, Seigel and Schuster who invented 'Superman' and the inventor of the graphic - novel as genre , Will Eisner.
For me it was quite startling to read something that looked to me like 'comic- books' I do not know if the pretension of making this form a high- art genre is justified or not, but I do know it is a clear, enjoyable way of telling a... more info
Debatable about it always being accurate:
A few bits of the book seem to be an opinion by the author rather than a fact. The bit about women being rightful to work among men seems to be an opinion. I guess boxer Max Baer Sr. (Jethro's father) was Jewish as this book reports though I heard Max Baer Jr. say on a talk show that he (Baer Jr.) is Catholic. Also, I debate that the Jews lost Nixon the 1960 presidential election. I thought the Italian-American Mafia did. Well, book is at least around 85% accurate.
Unique, often humorous, always accurate:
Written and illustrated by David Gantz, Jews In America: A Cartoon History is a grandiose history, superbly produced in a black-and-white cartoon format, very carefully researched and engagingly presented so as to inform and appeal to readers of all ages. Surveying the Jewish involvement in American history ranging from the discoveries of Columbus in the 15th century, down to the United States of present day at the dawning of the 21st century, Jews In America: A Cartoon History is almost impossible to put... more info
