Jewish-American History and Culture (Garland Reference Library of the Social Sciences, Vol. 429)

A one-volume collection blending short entries with comprehensive essays, this encyclopedia edited by historian Fischel and literary critic Pinsker offers a representative smorgasbord of people, places, institutions, concepts, themes, and events related to the American Jewish experience. The first of its kind, the book is useful as a reference tool and is intelligently assembled, providing a handy list of entries and bibliographic suggestions following each entry. The encyclopedia, however, is not as comprehensive as the editors assert and suffers from great unevenness in style and substance. Some entries, generally written by scholars, of which this volume to its credit can boast many, sparkle with data and interpretation. Others, authored by popularists or individuals professionally linked to the subjects about which they write, are prosaic at best. Although one can quibble with the selection of topics, the editors have generally chosen well, and even imaginatively, and have produced a work that can be profitably consulted by scholar and layperson alike.- Benny Kraut, Univ. of CincinnatiCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.