Rating: 
Summary: Book cover was fabricated. Most of content was, too.
Review: When writing a book of this type, it would behoove a journalist of Mr. Blooms caliber to keep it as factual as possible. Yet, the photo on the front cover of the book -- which implies local townsfolk "enjoying" the sight of a bearded Jew, shtreimel (fur hat), bekitcher (silk coat) and all -- was digitally "rendered".
In an article published by The Jewish Week on 10/27/2000 titled Little Clash On The Prairie, the author says, "I ardently believe that I'm as Jewish as the Chasidim in Postville." Unlike them, he says, he doesn't see the world as Jew vs. gentile.
It is interesting then that he should portray exactly that on the cover. Why not have the Lubavitcher chassidim in their traditional garb of long jacket (frock) and black hat, rather than a more pronounced European Hassid with a shtreimel? Frankly I feel it is an insult to my inteligence.
The article continues to say that "...The book was launched in Postville when Bloom spoke at the local community center. He says the response was very positive. Two hundred fifty people showed up - a huge turnout for the town. None of the chasidim came, and he says he hasn't heard from any of them since the book has been published..."
No wonder. He has not written about them at all, electing to write much of what can be attributed to an active imagination. I wonder how any of the reviewers hailing the work as an eye-opener and a "clarifier" of history can justly do so, seeing that his actual impetus was to deepen and enhance this so-called "clash of cultures", not portray it in a true sense.
This brings me to where I started, and also the close of said article:
...The book jacket shows a group of farmers, one in overalls, all wearing work shoes and hats, sitting on a bench on the sidewalk. Walking in front of them, his eyes focused on a small prayer book in his hand, is a chasid, dressed in a satin kapoteh and fur hat, or streimel. But the photo is a montage, the scene an illusion: The photo of the farmers was taken in Iowa (although not Postville), and the image of the chasid - likely a non-Lubavitcher, for the Lubavitchers don't wear streimels - was superimposed.
So, my fellow readers, seekers of "truth is stranger than fiction", If you want the real story I suggest you do what the author was supposed to do: Fly on down there and get a first hand look -- or buy a different book.
Rating: 
Summary: A good account, but not a great one.
Review: Stephen Bloom writes a somewhat personal account of his experience with the Lubavitcher Chasidim who settled in Postville, Iowa and set up a kosher slaughterhouse there. He attempts to write a balanced account of the encounter that led to a contested vote that led to the town annexing the land under the slaughterhouse.
One can argue that it is less than entire unbiased because Bloom is an non-practicing Jew and is not always sympathetic to the Chasidim, although he usually is. Truthfully, the Chasidim came into town unwilling to become familiar with the local culture but at the same time, I'm less than certain that the prejudices of the locals didn't factor in.
Overall, it is a good account, but not without small flaws. Probably the best part is that Bloom is fairly honest about his own outlook, so any subjectivity that he may have is out the open.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, but flawed
Review: I'll start out by saying that I could not put this book down. Being very interested in Jewish culture, sociology, and true stories about people interacting with one another, I was mesmerized by this book from the beginning. Blum is a very talented observational writer with an amazing mind for detail and an ear for humorous idiosyncrasies and dialogue. For these reasons I give this book four stars.
However, like other reviewers I was taken aback that Blum, a Jew, sided with the native Iowans against the Lubavitchers. Due to that, his portrayal of the Lubavitchers in Postville seemed a bit biased against them. Also, the portrayal of the culture of the native Iowans seemed unrealistic considering the book was set in the 1980s and 1990s: the native Iowans' lifestyles were portrayed like something out of the nineteenth century, and according to Blum they were all (aside from some anti-Semitism they showed toward him) saintly, altruistic, salt-of-the-earth types. I believe the real truth about them and about the Lubavitchers lies somewhere in between.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful & Entertaining - A Review by a Native Iowan
Review: I believe that I bring more to this review than the average reader, being that I am not only a native Iowan, native of Iowa City, but am also married to a daughter of two natives of Postville (the first on each side of the family to leave Postville, actually). As such, I've actually not only had the opportunity to visit Postville myself, but have also met with and discussed the demographic status of the town with not just a few citizens of Postville. The current scene in Postville is a fascinating one, without question.
I must confess that I began this book with an admonishment in mind from my in-laws ("That book ruffled a LOT of feathers in Postville. It is too one-sided.") (It is interesting to read not only the reviews that accuse Professor Bloom of being biased towards the (ultra-Orthodox) Lubavicher Jews, but the reviews accusing Bloom of being baised against them!) In the early parts of the book it is easy to draw this conclusion, as Bloom is less than charitable to Iowas as a whole, in my view. The way in which Iowa, Iowa City, and even life surrounding the University of Iowa (my alma mater) was surprising to me, at least as a person who spent years 0-18 in Iowa City and 19-26 at the University of Iowa. Undoubtedly Bloom's background played a huge role in his characterization of Iowans, but by the half-way-mark of the book I realized that Bloom was likely exaggerating for effect (and to sell more books to our friends living on either coast who will, no doubt, eat that stuff up).
By the end I further realized how effective Bloom's approach was. My own sense of Bloom's over-use and eagerness to levy the anti-Semitism charge is due in part to set the reader up for a rather surprising conclusion, as well as a natural reaction of a member of a group of folks who have been historically discriminated against a persecuted mercilessly for centuries. In either case, my point is that one ought not be too discouraged by what might appear to some as a rather arrogant "urban" view of the "rural simpletons" of Iowa. Bloom likes it in Iowa, after all.
By the book's end Bloom comes out against the Lubavichers' behavior in Postville, but is in no way overly biased toward the Lutheran natives of Postville (who also display some less than admirable behavior toward the Lubavichers). If anything, Bloom is likely influenced most by his own secular Judaism and his acceptance of the value of assimilation (at least to a degree - something that the Postville Lubavichers are unwilling to do). Racism flows back and forth on both sides, to be sure. Despite all the ugliness of the culture clash, this book is not only one man's interesting and enlightening analysis, it is also a fantastic journey into what it means to be a secular Jew in a very Christian nation.
I found the book riveting. I still believe that certain alleged characteristics of Iowa and Iowans are exaggerated, but (again) by the end of the book the exaggerations appear more of a useful tool to underscore certain main points and themes. Overall, "Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America" is an insightful, entertaining, and inspiring read.
Rating: 
Summary: The true reasons for "anti-semitism," aside from usury...
Review: The true reasons for "anti-semitism," aside from usury, are accidentally explained in "Postville," this fascinating non-fictional work (written by Stephen G. Bloom, secular Jew, by the way) about what happens when a group of Lubavitcher Jews moves into a small Protestant town in Iowa to open a meat processing plant. You will never understand Historical "anti-semitism" until you understand the dynamics described in this book, understand the nature of usury and fractional reserve banking, and read what the post-Temple Jewish religion (Pharisaism) teaches.
Rating: 
Summary: It's not journalism, but read it anyway.
Review: No, it's not "good journalism," it's biased and even angering as the previous reviewers have stated. The author doesn't speak to as many Hassidic sources as he does to townspeople. Part of the way through the book, he takes a side completely and stops speaking to the Hassidim entirely. He doesn't break down many myths about either side but particularly he doesn't understand how the Hassidim treat women, which is disappointing given his natural position as potential ambassador between the two groups. It's clear that he does not practice what he preaches (that is, remaining objective and having two sources back up each fact that he uses). So, the first 200 pages of "analysis" are a little bit disappointing and predictable, speaking in vague terms about mild anti-semitism.
What makes this book truly worth reading is what happens about 200 pages in. Bloom stops reporting on the situation and starts reporting more correctly on several specific topics, namely: the business practices of the Hassidim in Postville, certain incidents in the local area, and - most fascinatingly - about the criminal actions of and obstruction of justice by a small handful of Hassidim in Northeast Iowa.
It's absolutely worth reading Bloom's tepid analysis for 200 pages to get to these 130 pages of rather engrossing stories.
Rating:
Summary: This was painful to my brain.
Review: A not insignificant element of this book is the critique of Hasidim as treating women inferiorly, compared to the "enlightened" modern secular society of which the author (and his wife whose opinion on feminism he regularly refers) belongs. Yet in the book, the author describes relaxing on the porch drinking a beer while his wife weeds the garden; going for a walk to clear his mind leaving his wife in the hotel room to pack their belongings; and the author regularly describes the Jewish women he meets by their appearance: how much lipstick they may be wearing, how their clothes appear, comparing one to a Hollywood celebrity and describing the wife of one rabbi as a "knockout". (This man's behavior ironically supports the mechitza (partial divider between the men and women in orthodox synagogues) that he and his wife so disparage...I would not want to be a woman in shul with a creature like him, to be leered at and objectified as he does to the wife of every man he meets.) Basically, he sounds like a pig, and this completely invalidates any criticism he or his wife may hold about how religious Jewish men supposedly do not respect women.
In addition, as many of the reviews here demonstrate, this book has succeeded in feeding the animosity towards Jews that some people have, which is a shameful thing for Jewish author to do.
Rating: 
Summary: pornville?
Review: This book describes the odyssey of a journalist wholly uncomfortable with his Jewish identity. If you appreciate literary works grounded on negativity and inner turmoil, you will feel right at home with this tome. Bloom's personal vendetta with the entire Hasidic community is based on his unfortunate encounters with several severe personalities within the Hasidic community.
As a writer intending to pen a work of non-fiction, Bloom selectively chooses his "information" according to his convenience. Case in point; while expounding on the virtues of the town of Postville, the author is meticulous in transmitting precise details. However, when discussing the malevolent and baseless myth that Hasid's fornicate through a perforated sheet, Bloom does not bother to discredit this demonizing falsity. No less than on three occasions does Mr. Bloom mention this supposed tradition. And each time he fails in debunking this sexual scuttlebutt.
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