Looking Backward: True Stories from Chicago's Jewish Past - Hardcover

Walter Roth

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9780897335133: Looking Backward: True Stories from Chicago's Jewish Past

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0897335139 ISBN 13: 9780897335133

Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers, 2005

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The history of Jews in Chicago is a fascinating, complex and largely unknown story. Thanks to the unstinting efforts of Walter Roth, much of this history has been preserved. Now, for the first time, this material has been distilled into a single volume, chronicling events and people from the late nineteenth century to the end of World War II. There are six broad themes, each of which includes several essays: the first of which is "Chicago Jews and the Secular City: Builders, Movers, Shakers" about HL Mettes' huge 1924 history of Chicago Jews; financier Lazarus Silverman; the U of C Centennial; Jewish participation in the World's Columbian Exposition; Julius Rosenwald and the Museum of Science & Industry and the Jewish Day Pageant at the Century of Progress in 1933. The other five themes are "Chicago Jews and Anti-Semitism: Tragedy Abroad, Challenges at Home"; "Chicago Jews and Zionism: Local Idealists"; "Chicago Jews and Zionism: Renowned Visitors"; "Chicago Jews and the Arts: The Page and the Stage" and "Chicago Jews on Both Sides of the Law: Colorful Characters. "Anyone interested in Chicago history, ethnic history, Jewish history, will find Looking Backward a fascinating and informative read.

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About the Author:

Walter Roth is a prominent local attorney and co-author of An Accidental Anarchist, also available from Academy Chicago Publishers.

From Booklist:

The pieces in this anthology were first written for the periodical Chicago Jewish History, published by the Chicago Jewish Historical Society. Using such resources as the Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago, the archives at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Newberry Library, and the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies Library, Roth discusses such topics as the city's builders, movers, and shakers; Chicago Jews and anti-Semitism; and Chicago Jews and Zionism. Several chapters on the city's Jews in the arts include sketches of Ben Hecht, Edna Ferber, Maxwell Bodenheim, and Meyer Levin. Roth writes about the well known and the not so well known, bringing to life the people, events, and institutions that shaped the Jewish community. Thirty-three black-and-white photographs and illustrations add to the book's charm. George Cohen
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