Overview

A groundbreaking history of how Jewish women maintained their identity and influenced social activism as they wrote themselves into American history. What does it mean to be a Jewish woman in America? In a gripping historical narrative, Pamela S. Nadell weaves together the stories of a diverse group of extraordinary people--from the colonial-era matriarch Grace Nathan and her great-granddaughter, poet Emma Lazarus, to labor organizer Bessie Hillman and the great justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to scores of other activists, workers, wives, and mothers who helped carve out a Jewish American identity. The twin threads binding these women together, she argues, are a strong sense of self and a resolute commitment to making the world a better place. Nadell recounts how Jewish women have been at the forefront of causes for centuries, fighting for suffrage, trade unions, civil rights, and feminism, and hoisting banners for Jewish rights around the world. Informed by shared values of America's founding and Jewish identity, these women's lives have left deep footprints in the history of the nation they call home.

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9781665129374

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Reviews

A thoughtful history of a group of diverse, passionate, contemplative, vocal, and dynamic women and is a welcome addition to the American historical canon. -- New York Times Book Review Nadell fluidly intersperses thumbnail accounts of the famous and less so with a discussion of trends in American Jewish life. -- Forward Narrator Suzanne Toren employs her considerable vocal talent to help listeners view America's history through the lens of the female Jewish experience...Toren's steady voice and empathetic tone, clear diction, and comfortable pacing engage listeners with this survey of the personal stories of generations of American Jewish women...Toren's exemplary pronunciation of the vocabulary of Jewish rituals and customs adds authenticity. This audiobook should inspire some listeners to further inquiry. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award. -- AudioFile

Author Information

"Suzanne Toren has over 30 years of experience in recording. She won the American Foundation for the Blind's Scourby Award for Narrator of the Year in 1988, and AudioFile magazine named her the 2009 Best Voice in Nonfiction & Culture. She is also the recipient of multiple Earphones Awards. Her many credits include works by Jane Smiley, Margaret Weis, Jerry Spinelli, Barbara Kingsolver, and Cynthia Rylant. AudioFile also raves, ""Toren brings a distinguishing warmth and power to her narrations. Her talents extend to both fiction and nonfiction, and in her recording career of 30-plus years she has given listeners heart-wrenching memoirs, lively history, engaging light fiction, and involving mysteries."" Toren also performs on and off-Broadway and in regional theatres. Pamela S. Nadell is the Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women's and Gender History and director of Jewish studies at American University. Her books include Women Who Would Be Rabbis, a National Jewish Book Award finalist. She lives in North Bethesda, Maryland."

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