JEWS IN AMERICA documents the remarkable story of the Jewish presence in the New World, from the time of Columbus to the 1920s, when the Jewish community in the United States was four million strong and an essential part of American society and culture. Drawing on a mix of contemporary books, manuscripts, globes, maps and engravings from the world-renowned collections of the New York Public Library, JEWS IN AMERICA is a vivid document of everyday Jewish-American life, worship, law, and commerce. It tells the fascinating story of the first Jewish immigrants' arrival in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in 1654 (later New York City), Jewish interaction with the four colonial powers in the Western Hemisphere (Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands and England), and on the ideas and beliefs that they influenced. The final chapter looks at the evolving cultural role of Jews in late 19th and early 20th century New York, especially the rise of the Yiddish theatre. This book features rare manuscripts, prints, broadsides, maps, and books from the New York Public Library, including the Letter of Christopher Columbus to Luis de Santangel in Barcelona, 1493 and an introductory essay from leading Jewish Studies scholar, Jonathan Sarna. AUTHOR: Stephen D. Corrsin is curator of the New York Public Library's Dorot Jewish Division. He holds a PhD in History and MLS from the University of Michigan. A specialist in Eastern European Jewry, he is the author of WARSAW BEFORE THE FIRST WORLD WAR (1989) and SWORD DANCING IN EUROPE: A HISTORY (1997). Jonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History in the department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University and the director of the Hornstein Program in Jewish Professional Leadership. He is regarded as one of the most prominent historians of American Judaism, and is the author of the award-winning book AMERICAN JUDAISM: A HISTORY (2004). ILLUSTRATIONS: 100 colour 10 b/w
