From Publishers Weekly
A Chanukah menorah with each of its eight branches topped by a mini Statue of Liberty exemplifies as well as anything in this fascinating volume the deep connection that Jews have developed with America and its culture over the past 350 years. This handsome volume, which explores that connection, accompanies an exhibit at the Library of Congress, which will also travel to Cincinnati, New York City and Los Angeles. But the book stands on its own, both as a historical assessment and as a lovely coffee table book filled with illuminating images from the Library’s vast holdings. Many of the articles are by major scholars, such as Jonathan Sarna, Deborah Dash Moore and Leonard Dinnerstein. Jack Wertheimer’s essay on "American Jewry Since 1945" includes posters highlighting Jewish concerns, such as the demand to free Soviet Jewry. Sarna’s essay on Judaism in America includes the title page of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise’s Reform prayer book, appropriately titled Minhag Amerika (the American rite). The bad is remembered—the lynching of Leo Frank, the anti-Semitic rants of Father Coughlin—but so is the good—the joys of Yiddish theater, the flourishing of Jewish women in America. Comprehensive, beautiful and erudite, this is an excellent gift for anyone interested in Jewish American history and culture.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description
This year marks the 350th anniversary of the first Jewish settlement in America. From Haven to Home celebrates this important occasion by bringing together an eminent group of Judaic scholars who take stock of American Jewish life, from the arrival of the first small group in Manhattan in 1654 to the present. The contributors examine a wide range of topics, including the early history of the American Jewish community and the various significant phases of Jewish immigration, which saw the initial group of twenty-three burgeon into a thriving community of several million by the early twentieth century. Also addressed is the role of Jews in the Civil War and in World War II, anti-Semitism in America, the daily life and struggles of American Jewish women, and American Jews and politics. The essays are amply illustrated with items from the collection of the Library of Congress's Hebraic Section, among them the first Hebrew bible printed in America and the first Yiddish American cookbook, as well as selections of photographs, prints, diaries, maps, and sheet music. Central to the Jewish experience in America is that country's commitment to ideals of freedom, opportunity, religious liberty, equality, and pluralism. The continuity of the faith, in fact, depends on it. From Haven to Home—the story of Jews in America—is therefore also the story of America and American ideals. 100 color illustrations.

About the Author
Michael W. Grunberger is Head of the Hebraic Section at the Library of Congress, where he has curated such exhibits as "Zion's Call" and "Scrolls from the Dead Sea: The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship." He lives in Washington, D.C.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Year 2004 Marks the 350th Anniversary of the first Jewish settlement in America. From Haven to Home celebrates this important occasion by bringing together an eminent group of historians who take stock of American Jewish life, from the arrival of the first small group in Manhattan in 1654 to the present. The contributors examine a wide range of topics, including the early history of the American Jewish community and the various significant phases of Jewish immigration, which saw the initial group of twenty-three burgeon into a thriving community of several million by the early twentieth century. Also addressed is the role and presence of Jews in the Civil War and in World War II, anti-Semitism in America, the history of American Jewish women, American Jews and politics, and American Jewish popular culture. The essays are amply illustrated with items from the vast Judaica Americana collections of the Library of Congress, among them letters from presidents Washington and Jefferson to prominent leaders of the American Jewish community, the first Hebrew Bible printed in America, and the first American Yiddish cookbook, as well as selections of photographs, prints, diaries, maps, and sheet music.