American Dreams

At the turn of the twentieth century wave after wave of Eastern European immigrants landed on the American shores with little more than the clothes on their backs and hope in their hearts, guided by the glittering but often ephemeral star of the American dreamt The Jewish immigrants, in particular, also sought escape from the deeply ingrained European anti-Semitism which had plagued the Jewish people for a thousand years. Like all dreams, however, the American dream also had its harsh underside of reality, delivering rewards with one hand but demanding sacrifices with the other. For the Jewish immigrants, the price of prosperity was often the loosening of their bonds with Jew- ish heritage and tradition. In Amen can Dreams, Dr. Sidney R. Lewitter has created an immi- gration docudrama, replete with powerful scenes and sharp characterization, based on the experiences of his own family. With sympathy and insight, he traces the sociological and economic adjust- ment of the family to the New World, in every sense of the word. The most remarkable aspect of the book~ however, is the authenticity of its portrayals of immigrant life in the first half of the century and the contrasts between1the restraints of the shtetl and the heady atmosphere of the bustling American metropolis of Newark, New Jersey. To read this book is to step into another world, to see its vivid colors, smell its pungent odors and savor its forgotten flavors. It is to relive the immigrant story in microcosm and perhaps to under- stand it just a little better.