This is anoth­er in a series of ​“Guides” that JPS has pub­lished. They are all pop­u­lar, acces­si­ble, easy-to-read basic books. 

Amer­i­can Jew­ish His­to­ry does not just start at the shores of Amer­i­ca; it traces the Jew­ish expe­ri­ence from even before Jews start­ed arriv­ing in the Unit­ed States of America. 

Finkel­stein pro­vides excep­tion­al sto­ries, maps, and doc­u­ments that show the extent of the Jew­ish con­tri­bu­tion to Amer­i­ca the coun­try and to Amer­i­can soci­ety. He focus­es on peo­ple, giv­ing short biogra­phies accom­pa­nied by pic­tures and por­traits. Each sec­tion holds its own fas­ci­na­tion. My par­tic­u­lar favorite is the sec­tion devot­ed to the peri­od 1914 – 1948 enti­tled ​“From Home to Home­land” which high­lights the excit­ing ten­sions and cre­ative spir­it of Amer­i­can Jew­ry and Israel. This is a must read for any novice to Amer­i­can Jew­ish history.