Haunted in the New World

Haunted in the New World

Front Cover
Author	Donald Weber
Language	English
Genre	Literary criticism
Publisher	Indiana University Press
Publication date	June 30, 2005
Publication place	United States
ISBN	ISBN 978-0-25-334579-0

Haunted in the New World is a book, published in 2005, by Donald Weber. The book's subtitle, Jewish American Culture from Cahan to The Goldbergs reflects the broad scope of the work as an overview of 20th century Jewish American literature and popular culture. Abraham Cahan was one of the most recognizable Jewish-American writers in Yiddish. The Goldbergs began in 1929 as a radio comedy and drama about a Jewish-American family, and the show was initially targeted for Yiddish radio stations, but they made the leap first to CBS radio in 1936, and then to mass-market television in 1949, becoming a long-running situation comedy.

Reviews

According to a review in American Jewish History, "Weber's readings prove a valuable resource through their insightful demonstration of the interrelation of public culture with emotions that are deeply felt personally and, at the same time, shared experiences that proved definitional for many American Jews. Indeed, [...] Haunted in the New World provides the scholar of American Jewish life a valuable guide to issues of affect that can now seem mystifying to younger generations." [1]

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Adjusting to America
• 1. Outsider in the Old World, Greenhorn in the New: Christopher Newman and David Levinsky
• 2. Gastronomic Nostalgia: Anzia Yezierska
• 3. The Claims of Descent: Immigrant Cinema
• 4. Haunted in the New World: Henry Roth
• 5. To Make 'A Jew': Protecting Antisemitism in Post-War America
• 6. Memory and Repression: Goldberg Variations
• 7. The 'Jewish Opera': Saul Bellow and Other Jewish Sons
• Epilogue: Nostalgia and 1950s Popular Culture
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index

See also

• American literature
• Jewish American literature

External links

• Book review - Indiana University
• Book review - Project MUSE