In the Catskills

Rating:
Summary: Looking for the Catskills
Review: How exciting... a book by the guy who runs those Catskills Institute workshops each August! I attended one a few years back, and I still have the audio tapes frlom some of the lectures. Collected here are 34 essays, excerpts from memoirs, songs, and stories of life in the Catskills in the Twentieth Century. The book includes the words and music to Shoot the Shtrudel to Me Yudel (1941) which was dedicated to Yudel Slutzky; an excerpt from Joey Adam's 1966 autobiography on the Borsht Belt; a reprint of "Jewish Farmers of the Catskills"; and even a piece from Cahan's "The Rise of David Levinsky." The book has seven main sections: history; boarding house, bungalow, and kuchalayn life; hotel life; entertainment; romance; religion; and food. Additional standouts include an excerpt from Kaaterskill Falls (by Allegra Goodman); I. B. Singer's "The Yearning Heifer"; Thane Rosenbaum's "Bingo in the Bungalow"; Herman Wouk's "Marjorie at South Wind"; and Tania Grossinger's "Growing Up at Grossinger's." The book is also filled with photos of Catskill's life, signage, a rate sheet, and even old hotel menus.

Rating:
Summary: Shwenga. enjoy the Catskills from your air conditioned couch
Review: How exciting... a book by the guy who runs those Catskills Institute workshops each August! I attended one a few years back, and I still have the audio tapes frlom some of the lectures. Collected here are 34 essays, excerpts from memoirs, songs, and stories of life in the Catskills in the Twentieth Century. The book includes the words and music to Shoot the Shtrudel to Me Yudel (1941) which was dedicated to Yudel Slutzky; an excerpt from Joey Adam's 1966 autobiography on the Borsht Belt; a reprint of "Jewish Farmers of the Catskills"; and even a piece from Cahan's "The Rise of David Levinsky." The book has seven main sections: history; boarding house, bungalow, and kuchalayn life; hotel life; entertainment; romance; religion; and food. Additional standouts include an excerpt from Kaaterskill Falls (by Allegra Goodman); I. B. Singer's "The Yearning Heifer"; Thane Rosenbaum's "Bingo in the Bungalow"; Herman Wouk's "Marjorie at South Wind"; and Tania Grossinger's "Growing Up at Grossinger's." The book is also filled with photos of Catskill's life, signage, a rate sheet, and even old hotel menus.

Rating:
Summary: Looking for the Catskills
Review: If someone would only perfect a time machine, I'd rush back to the Catskills for a birds-eye view of places I've only read about or seen in movies. Alas, I must steep myself in books to flesh out a daydream of a past I never had. "In the Catskills" succeeds beautifully with its essays concerning every aspect of a unique Jewish American experience. My one disappointment - and it's a big one - is the photographs. I was hoping for a pictoral smorgasborg, filled with color photos of brochures and other memorabilia and many, many more photos of the hotels, performers, workers and guests. There are some jewels here, but some additional and higher-quality glossy photos would've worked wonders. All in all, though, a swell book!