In “Children of the American Jewish Ghetto” Chaim Rosenberg has produced not only a fascinating social history covering the period 1881 till just after the first world war in 1919, but also a reference book recounting the lives and careers of a complete generation of accomplished American Jews, successful in a wide variety of careers and occupations.

The historical narrative thread of the volume tells the story of the Russian Jews who flooded into America at the end of the nineteenth century, beginning with impoverished immigrant families living in overcrowded city neighborhoods.  It follows their children into schools, and from there into elite institutions and prominent careers and, despite the always present antisemitism, emphasizes the next generation’s notable achievements across the whole spectrum of American life.  

As a social history the book is a celebration of upward mobility – an inspiring account of learning, resilience, and advancement from hardship into high achievement. 

“Within fifteen years of arrival,” writes Rosenberg, “most of the Russian Jewish immigrants had left the ghettoes for better neighborhoods, and reached a standard of living equal to that of native-born Americans.”

Rosenberg himself was born in South Africa in the 1930s.  Before settling in the United States, he lived in Tel Aviv, London, and Sydney.  Having trained as a psychiatrist, he served as Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University.  After what he describes as “a gratifying psychiatric career”, he shifted his primary focus to American history, and has written some fifteen books, largely about the role of individuals in shaping American economic and social development.

He carries this approach through to his “Children of the American........

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