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December 2014 Vol. 52 No. 4

The mass migration of Eastern European Jews to Great Britain after 1880 changed the demographic profile of Anglo-Jewry from a largely acculturated community to one that appeared distinctly alien, to use the English term.  Tananbaum (Bowdoin College) examines the process whereby these immigrants, principally living in London’s East End, were transformed from foreigners in the first generation to Anglicized Jews by the second and third.  In particular, the author focuses on the roles of women, children, and the domestic sphere as promoters of health, education, and acculturation.  Prior to the post-1945 welfare state, Anglo-Jewry maintained extensive voluntary networks of social and economic assistance for the community that enabled poor immigrants to tap into social services and even sports.  That also helped promote the Anglicization agenda of the established community.  Tananbaum situates her study as part of the growth of Anglo-Jewish historiography, which has moved from the triumphalism of Anglicization to a more critical analysis of the mechanisms of acculturation.  Extensively researched and based on a wide array of secondary sources, the book is organized topically rather than chronologically and is a valuable resource for specialists in immigration and Anglo-Jewish history.

--F. Krome, University of Cincinnati--Clermont College

Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.