Rating: 
Summary: deja vu
Review: If you want to understand why pogroms occurred throughout the centuries in Eastern Europe, read this fascinating book.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a look
Review: At first I was surprised by some of the harsh reviews of this book. The events related were all experienced firsthand by Bloom or related to him by Postville residents. Unless Bloom is doing some EXTREMELY selective reporting or flat-out fabrication, this book cannot be said to be a misrepresentation of the Lubavitchers in Postville. In the book, Bloom doesn't extapolate that incidents of boorish behavior by some of the Postville Lubavitchers are representative of all orthodox Jews, or even all Hasidic Jews. Also, the Lubavitchers in Postville, as Bloom portrays them, do not come off without charm or likability. They seem to be decent people with values that happen to differ radically from those of mainstream America.Then I got around to reading the afterword, which Bloom writes folling his return to Postville shortly after the release of the book, and things became clear. Bloom seems to be a changed man by this time, losing any of the objectivity he displays in the book proper. He endorses the non-Jewish residents of Postville, and of Iowans in general, almost unconditionally. Additionally, he presents a summary judgment against the Lubavitchers. Most offensive was his assertion that these Lubavitchers were very religious but lacked faith. As Bloom's mother would say, "This is for you to judge?" It seems strange that Bloom's assessment of these ultra-orthodox Jews would sour considerably after being away from Postville for six months, but it certainly does. However, I think the fair thing here is to review the book itself and not include the afterword that was appended later. The book is, as many have mentioned, a page-turner. I don't always enjoy Bloom's style, and I think the book could've been edited down a bit. Still, you couldn't go wrong with this subject matter. "Postville" is interesting and a great conversation piece. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars, if possible, along with a strong recommendation to anyone to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not only insulting, but also inaccurate
Review: I was torn because the first half of this book was very good. I could really follow along on Bloom's journey's into both unknown worlds, but the inaccuracies abounded and the author decided to find everything possibly negative he could about the community--even issues that had nothing to do with the referendum. The book nose-dived to a dreadful ending.
As a jew observant of Torah law, I want to clarify: the hole-in-the-sheet thing is absolutely false. In fact, the marital relationship is so important and holy, that doing something like that would run counter to the respect it should be afforded and cheapen the experience and the marriage of the couple.
As a Jewish woman, I can attest that orthodox women, especially the chassidic women I know, are in no way oppressed or subservient. I know I'm not. I know of women who are doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, authors, and deans of high level institutions. The days of "stiff" wigs are long gone, and most women sport various shades and styles that look quite natural and beautiful. I myself am an engineer. Family is very important for the observant jewish woman, but she's not chained to her kitchen or her home.
Lastly, the Lubavitcher Rebbe's teachings, which are quite publically accessible and translated into ~30+ languages, encourage love of all humankind, and to compare him to Farrakhan is quite ridiculous.
I highly recommend that regardless of the potential reader's opinions, he/she not read this book, not so much bc i disagree with the author's opinions, but because there are so many inaccuracies that the reader not already well informed of traditional jewish living or chassidic communities would be greatly misinformed.
Rating:
Summary: A Disgraceful Book
Review: I happen to know Sholom Rubashkin and his family. I just met them. I spent two weeks in a hotel in Palm Springs, CA for Passover with them. Sholom and his family happen to be VERY nice people. One of the nicest families I have ever met. They do not think twice to do a favor for someone else. They are always cheerful and bring joy wherever they go.
I think it is terrible that somone should waste their hard-earned money to buy a book filled with lies.
Rating:
Summary: Not Impressed
Review: It is quite obvious from this book that the author has in mind to bash religous Jews, whom I happen to respect. I beleive he wrote this book as a good excuse and exaggeration to convince the world that Orthodox Jews are bad people. Keep your feelings and oppinions to yourself! Do not write a book showing "facts" of the life-style of religous just to bring people to think badly of them. No wonder the author wrote for the LA Times, a known and proven anti-simetic paper!
I am not immpressed by someone who wishes to bad-mouth a group of people and putting in a book.
Rating:
Summary: Factually Inaccurate - This Is A Professor of Journalism?
Review: Stephen Bloom's book, Postville, purports to be a description of how cultures clash in rural America. It is in fact, his way of looking down upon Chassidic (and I suspect all observant) Jews. What fascinates me is how quickly he is disappointed by his Jewish brethren whom he seeks out after being snubbed by his neighbors in Iowa City. My guess is that he is not nearly as open minded as he makes out to be. But this is not the major problem of the book. The book is factually inaccurate about observant Jews, chassidic Jews and about Lubavitchers. He doesn't seem to have the background to even BEGIN to understand the myriad differences and similarities that make up these different groups. Whoever gave him this information (I suspect it was the Conservative Rabbi in Iowa City) was way off. I started to count his mistakes from the front cover and gave up mid-way through the fourth chapter. This is what I know because I am an observant, chassidic and Lubavitch Jew. What I don't know is how factual the rest of his observations were. If the Jewish stuff in the book is any clue, the book should have been classified as fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Postville
Review: As a reform Jew, I have to say that there were parts of Postville that I either strongly agreed or disagreed with. I feel that Bloom did a great job of describing rural Iowa, but did not do such a great job doing this with the Hassidic Jewish population in Postville. This book was about a culture class between the Hassidic Jewish population working in the kosher slaughterhouse and the rural Lutheran Iowans. I feel that Bloom did a great job of describing the conflict between the two books, but lacked in the development in both sides.
I feel that Bloom was not completely prepared for this project. I got the impression that Bloom obviously did not know a lot about either side, especially the Hassidic Jews. I feel that Bloom had a very unrealistic expectation of the Hassidic Jews, before he arrived at Postville. I feel that at certain times in the book Bloom did a poor job of getting to know some of the local Hassidic Jews. I got the feeling that Bloom had an immediate disliking of Shalom Rubashkin, who was the manager of the slaughterhouse. I don't think that Bloom had this immediate of a reaction to any of the local Iowans.
Even though Bloom was unprepared when he arrived at Postville, he did a great job with his research while he was there, I believe. He did a great job of trying to hear both sides of the story. He interviewed people from both sides of the story. Bloom also had a house stay with one of the Hassidic Jews. I found this to be one of the most interesting parts of the book, because of Bloom's background. Bloom was a somewhat non-practicing Jew. Therefore, seeing his reactions to some of the customs of the Hassidic family was very interesting, because I had some of those same reactions when I go to the orthodox synagogue with my grandmother.
Overall, I feel that Bloom did do a great job of portraying the situation in whole by not taking either side too much at times. Of course, there were times when he seemed to be on one side more than the other, but who wouldn't have done that? This book did a great job of letting society know about what types of things are happening, not only in the United States, but all around the world. So, therefore I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: a better choice
Review: The conflict between religious identity and national identity is an important subject, but Bloom's book doesn't do it justice. Skip this book-- unless you are related to Stephen Bloom and have reason to care about his personal anxieties, you won't learn much. Buy David Kertzer's The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara instead-- serious treatment for a serious theme.
Rating:
Summary: Jewish apologist falls in love with rural Iowa
Review: I found it hard to believe this book was written by either a Jewish person or a journalist because of the lengthy raves about how much he loves the smell of pig manure and describing the Hasid's bahavior as "atrocious" simply for being good at bargaining! I wonder if he would attack the traditional garb of a Hindu or Muslim with as much rancor as he does the Hasid's?
Someone should inform Bloom that being Jewish, or Hasidic doesn't make that person's habits automatically good or bad, it just makes them Jewish. It is unfortunate that he is so embarassed by his own culture and disillusioned by the Hasidic community after his fantasy of finding a spiritual awakening at the feet of some white-haired wizened Rebbe.
This book is contradictory and disturbing.
Rating:
Summary: Clash of cultures is an understatement.......
Review: This book intrigued me because of recent debates I have had about how different Israel is compared to the United States. And this is really what the book is about as far as the orthodox Jew who come to this small Iowa town in middle America and in essence seek to be a little Israel in the midst of the all American state. And I couldn't help but think of all the terms I grew up with, like Melting Pot, or being reminded that the words on the statue of liberty were about being one and not separate. And in a way the book also reminded me of the sentiments I have heard from family in Montana who complain that the people from California are moving there, not because they want to adapt to Montana ways but because they expect Montana's to accept the way Californians do things, which in my opinion is akin to eating at a persons house and complaining about the food and how it should be done. Personally I was saddened that the outsiders (Hassidic) didn't care about how they treated the natives in Iowa. It also saddened me because in doing so they helped feed the negative stereotype that so many non-Jews have of Jews in general. But I think the book is an excellent text for teaching society of how things are changing and that some (thankfully still a minority) wish to be separate and not a part of what makes us a great country.
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