My Future Is in America: Autobiographies of Eastern European Jewish Immigrants

by Jocelyn Cohen, Daniel Soyer

Overview

In 1942, YIVO held a contest for the best autobiography by a Jewish immigrant on the theme “Why I Left the Old Country and What I Have Accomplished in America.” Chosen from over two hundred entries, and translated from Yiddish, the nine life stories in My Future Is in America provide a compelling portrait of American Jewish life in the immigrant generation at the turn of the twentieth century.
The writers arrived in America in every decade from the 1890s to the 1920s. They include manual workers, shopkeepers, housewives, communal activists, and professionals who came from all parts of Eastern Europe and ushered in a new era in American Jewish history. In their own words, the immigrant writers convey the complexities of the transition between the Old and New Worlds.
An Introduction places the writings in historical and literary context, and annotations explain historical and cultural allusions made by the writers. This unique volume introduces readers to the complex world of Yiddish-speaking immigrants while at the same time elucidating important themes and topics of interest to those in immigration studies, ethnic studies, labor history, and literary studies.
Published in conjunction with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814716953
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	04/05/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	329
Sales rank:	850,324
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Jocelyn Cohen (Editor)
Jocelyn Cohen is a research associate of YIVO’s Max Weinreich Center for Advanced Jewish Studies in New York.

Daniel Soyer (Editor)
Daniel Soyer is professor of history at Fordham University. He is the author of Jewish Immigrant Associations and American Identity in New York, 1880-1939, and editor of several other books.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     vii
A Note on Annotations and Transliteration     xi
Introduction: Yiddish Social Science and Jewish Immigrant Autobiography   Jocelyn Cohen   Daniel Soyer     1
Success or Failure?   Minnie Goldstein     18
Why I Came to America   Ben Reisman     35
I Have Nothing to Complain About   Shmuel Krone     106
Why I Left My Old Home and What I Have Accomplished in America   Aaron Domnitz     124
What Drove Me to America and My Experiences in Europe and America   Rose Schoenfeld     160
My Future Is in America   Rose Silverman     189
The Movies Pale in Comparison   Bertha Fox     204
Why I Left the Old Country and What I Have Accomplished in America   Chaim Kusnetz     233
I Haven't Lost Anything by Coming to America   Minnie Kusnetz     288
Glossary     311
Index     319
About the Editors     329

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Cohen and Soyer have done a masterful job of collecting and translating these gripping immigrant narratives. A must read for anyone interested in immigration, American history, or the Jewish experience in America.”
-Beth S. Wenger,Katz Family Chair in American Jewish History, University of Pennsylvania

“This unique volume introduces readers to the complex world of Yiddish-speaking immigrants while at the same time elucidating important themes and topics of interest to those in immigration studies, ethnic studies, labor history, and literary studies.”
-Shamash

,

“A treasure trove of Yiddish autobiographical gems available for the first time in English. These heartfelt and moving narratives reveal the rich, complex and multi-textured experience of the East European Jewish immigrant milieu. The masterful translations rendered by Cohen and Soyer capture the lyric, sophisticated and often times profound dimensions of the writers' contributions. To this considerable achievement, Cohen and Soyer add a valuable introductory essay and detailed notes that make the book accessible to students, researchers and thoughtful readers alike. This volume plugs a significant gap in the field of modern Jewish studies and belongs in every library collection, where it will update and complement classics like A Bintel Brief and World of Our Fathers.”
-Mark A. Raider,author of American Jewish Women and the Zionist Enterprise and The Plough Woman: Records of the Pioneer Women of Palestine

Editorial Reviews

"Cohen and Soyer have done a masterful job of collecting and translating these gripping immigrant narratives. A must read for anyone interested in immigration, American history, or the Jewish experience in America."

Beth S. Wenger

"A treasure trove of Yiddish autobiographical gems available for the first time in English. These heartfelt and moving narratives reveal the rich, complex and multi-textured experience of the East European Jewish immigrant milieu. The masterful translations rendered by Cohen and Soyer capture the lyric, sophisticated and often times profound dimensions of the writers' contributions. To this considerable achievement, Cohen and Soyer add a valuable introductory essay and detailed notes that make the book accessible to students, researchers and thoughtful readers alike. This volume plugs a significant gap in the field of modern Jewish studies and belongs in every library collection, where it will update and complement classics like A Bintel Brief and World of Our Fathers"

Mark A. Raider

Cohen and Soyer have done a masterful job of collecting and translating these gripping immigrant narratives. A must read for anyone interested in immigration, American history, or the Jewish experience in America.”
-Beth S. Wenger,Katz Family Chair in American Jewish History, University of Pennsylvania

“A treasure trove of Yiddish autobiographical gems available for the first time in English. These heartfelt and moving narratives reveal the rich, complex and multi-textured experience of the East European Jewish immigrant milieu. The masterful translations rendered by Cohen and Soyer capture the lyric, sophisticated and often times profound dimensions of the writers' contributions. To this considerable achievement, Cohen and Soyer add a valuable introductory essay and detailed notes that make the book accessible to students, researchers and thoughtful readers alike. This volume plugs a significant gap in the field of modern Jewish studies and belongs in every library collection, where it will update and complement classics like A Bintel Brief and World of Our Fathers.”
-Mark A. Raider,author of American Jewish Women and the Zionist Enterprise and The Plough Woman: Records of the Pioneer Women of Palestine

“This unique volume introduces readers to the complex world of Yiddish-speaking immigrants while at the same time elucidating important themes and topics of interest to those in immigration studies, ethnic studies, labor history, and literary studies.”
• Shamash

From the Publisher