'This is a significant contribution to the study of American Judaism, delivered intelligently and succinctly. Lederhendler (American Jewish history, Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) emphasizes the sparseness and transience of early Jewish settlement, the relatively accommodating nature of the colonies and the new American nation, civic integration, occupational diversity, intermarriage, and the lack of rabbis. … Summing Up: Essential. All public and academic levels/libraries.' R. C. Cottrell, CHOICE
'He focuses on how American Jews preserved a sense of Jewish peoplehood rather than on how they adapted to domestic events. His implicit argument is that the historian needs to approach the American Jewish experience as part of the global Jewish tapestry.' Elliot Jager, The Jerusalem Report
'… Eli Lederhendler's panoramic new survey, conveys the mastery and depth of insight one would expect from this wide-ranging and prolific scholar. As would any worthwhile work of intellectual synthesis, Lederhendler's book creates new cloth out of threads pulled from decades of historical observation.' Marni Davis, The American Jewish Archives Journal