A groundbreaking history of how Jewish women maintained their identity and influenced social activism as they wrote themselves into American history.
What does it mean to be a Jewish woman in America? In a gripping historical narrative, Pamela S. Nadell weaves together the stories of a diverse group of extraordinary people—from the colonial-era matriarch Grace Nathan and her great-granddaughter, poet Emma Lazarus, to labor organizer Bessie Hillman and the great justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to scores of other activists, workers, wives, and mothers who helped carve out a Jewish American identity.
The twin threads binding these women together, she argues, are a strong sense of self and a resolute commitment to making the world a better place. Nadell recounts how Jewish women have been at the forefront of causes for centuries, fighting for suffrage, trade unions, civil rights, and feminism, and hoisting banners for Jewish rights around the world. Informed by shared values of America's founding and Jewish identity, these women's lives have left deep footprints in the history of the nation they call home.
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“Narrator Suzanne Toren employs her considerable vocal talent to help listeners view America’s history through the lens of the female Jewish experience…Toren’s steady voice and empathetic tone, clear diction, and comfortable pacing engage listeners with this survey of the personal stories of generations of American Jewish women…Toren’s exemplary pronunciation of the vocabulary of Jewish rituals and customs adds authenticity. This audiobook should inspire some listeners to further inquiry. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
“A thoughtful history of a group of diverse, passionate, contemplative, vocal, and dynamic women and is a welcome addition to the American historical canon.”
— New York Times Book Review“Nadell fluidly intersperses thumbnail accounts of the famous and less so with a discussion of trends in American Jewish life.”
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Pamela S. Nadell is the Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women’s and Gender History and director of Jewish studies at American University. Her books include Women Who Would Be Rabbis, a National Jewish Book Award finalist. She lives in North Bethesda, Maryland.
Suzanne Toren, award-winning narrator, has over thirty years of experience in narration. She was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. She has won the American Foundation for the Blind’s Scourby Award for Narrator of the Year, AudioFile magazine named her the 2009 Best Voice in Nonfiction & Culture, and she is the recipient of multiple Earphones Awards. She performs on and off Broadway and in regional theaters and has appeared on Law & Order and in various soap operas.