In 2003, with the release of Guide to Jewish Women
, the Jewish Publication Society launched its paperback JPS Guide series, designed for the general reader as basic introductions to topics of Jewish interest. The second volume was Guide to Jewish Traditions
(2004), and this book is the third effort to provide ready access to concise and fundamental information. American Jewish history has been addressed in a number of scholarly volumes. Unlike those erudite books and in keeping with the goal of the JPS Guides, this simple primer reviews the rudimentary elements of American Jewish history. Finkelstein, a former school librarian in Brookline, Mass., who won the National Jewish Book Award for Heeding the Call
, includes photos, maps, feature boxes and brief biographies throughout the text. The material is divided into six chronological chapters, beginning in the mid-1300s, with the Sephardic predecessors of the 23 settlers from Brazil who landed in New Amsterdam in 1654, and ending with a chapter on 1948 to the present. At the end of each chapter, a page is devoted to a "Timeline," identifying important events and the year in which they occurred. For students and those with limited knowledge of the subject, this book is a useful introductory guide. (Apr.)
