MORE PRAISE
FOR IN
THEIR OWN IMAGE
"A
compelling picture of the 1920s as the Golden Age of Jewish
ethnic entertainment, a decade in which a secular Jewish
identity was born."
--Jewish Film World
"Merwin shows how comedies about American Jewish families
were a key part of the construction of a proud,
self-conscious, new Jewish identity for the sons and
daughters of immigrants...He brings a lively and engaging
sensibility to the subject."
--Sandee Brawarsky, New York Jewish Week
"Impressively researched and entertainingly presented...a
significant new take on the culture and society of the
1920's."
--Ethan Kanfer, Forward.
"Merwin knows his onions, particularly where the history of
the Jewish-American theater is concerned."
--Sanford Pinsker, New Jersey Jewish News
"Superb, informative and highly entertaining."
--Robert A. Cohn, St. Louis Jewish Light.
"In this engaging and accessible book, Merwin describes a
much more empowered generation of Jewish show business than
is suggested by previous work. A fresh and provocative
perspective on new material."
--Harley Erdman, author of Staging the Jew: The Performance
of an American Ethnicity, 1860-1920
"Clearly written, carefully researched, and thoughtfully
argued, In Their Own Image fills important gaps in existing
scholarship. This book will appeal to anyone interested in
American Jewish culture, American theater and film history,
and American popular culture."
--Joel Berkowitz, author of Shakespeare on the American
Yiddish Stage