The Jews of Chicago: Fron Shtetl to Suburb

by Irving Cutler

Vividly told and richly illustrated with more than 160 photographs, The Jews of Chicago is the fascinating story of the cultural, religious, fraternal, economic, and everyday life of Chicago's Jews. This edition of Irving Cutler's definitive historical volume also includes a new foreword written by the author.

 

The first comprehensive history of Chicago's Jewish population in eighty years, The Jews of Chicago brings to life the people, events, neighborhoods, and institutions that helped shape today's Jewish community. Cutler intertwines neighborhood histories with representative biographical vignettes of some of Chicago's best known figures, such as Edna Ferber, Saul Bellow, Benny Goodman, Mel Tormé, Studs Terkel, Paul Muni, Mandy Patinkin, Emil G. Hirsch, Julius Rosenwald, Dankmar Adler, Arthur Goldberg, Philip Klutznick, and many others. From their roots in the Old Country to their present-day communities, Cutler captures in extraordinary detail the remarkable saga of the Jews of Chicago.

Genres: History, Judaism, Judaica, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this book on a shelf in the synagogue. I spent every available moment over the weekend reading it. I learned some surprising facts, like the first Jews in US were German. I also learned that some high profile Americans are Jewish, either first or second generation like Henry Horner, Benny Goodman, and Saul Bellow to name a few.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a place in my home library though I found it a bit disappointing. I hoped for more social history and less the great men and women of Chicago Jewry and the institutions that they built> Still I found it a useful refernce.

[David Flapan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable, and intriguing, especially if you know the area. Even if you don't, still full of informative stories.