The Wonders of America: Reinventing Jewish Culture 1880-1950

Rating:
Summary: Sheds light on American Judaism
Review: This books sheds must needed light on American Judaism. Often vilified as assimilationist by their enemies, this book shows how American Jews in the 20th century adapted their faith to American religious traditions. This is illustrated most dramatically in the domestic nature of American Judaism. Rituals with a home flavor, like Chanukah and Passover, take on a greater relevance than their old world counterparts. This book vividly shows that a religion that may seem to be in their death throes have actually transmuted into something related but different than its predecessor.

Rating:
Summary: Made me re-think my "American Jewish" culture
Review: This was a great book! It helped me understand the background of many of the aspects of American Jewish culture than I never really knew the origins of, and helped me see how deeply America influenced both Jewish culture and people's Jewish identity. The book is a very entertaining read, and has some great insights. However, I would have liked to see more of a conclusion at the end about what it all means to the current state and the future of Judaism.

Rating:
Summary: Made me re-think my "American Jewish" culture
Review: This was a great book! It helped me understand the background of many of the aspects of American Jewish culture than I never really knew the origins of, and helped me see how deeply America influenced both Jewish culture and people's Jewish identity. The book is a very entertaining read, and has some great insights. However, I would have liked to see more of a conclusion at the end about what it all means to the current state and the future of Judaism.