Review by Choice Review
Contesting longstanding stereotypes, Fermaglich (history and Jewish studies, Michigan State Univ.) creatively examines name changing by Jews in the US, focusing on New York City Jews. From the onset of her study, Fermaglich refutes the notion that name changing was an individual or isolated act, asserting that it dramatically impacted American Jewish culture. Rather than refuting Jewish ethnic identity, name changing did not necessarily lead to a departure from the religion or separation from family and community. It did provide a means to explore the hurtful reality of American anti-Semitism. Name changing abetted the process whereby Jews, like other European ethnics, made themselves "white," seemingly peaking around the mid-century mark, shortly following WW II. It occurred in the face of considerable antipathy by other Jews regarding name changing, but didn't appear to demonstrate the self-hatred feared by Jewish leaders--despite taking place even though there were no restrictive name laws. WW II and the desire to appear "American" provided spurs. The desire to take middle-class, white-collar jobs also encouraged name changing, as demonstrated by the novel turned Hollywood movie Gentlemen's Agreement (1947). So did a determination to afford greater opportunities for one's children. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Robert C. Cottrell, California State University, Chico
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Fermaglich (American Dreams and Nazi Nightmares), a professor of history and Jewish studies at Michigan State University, supplies much fascinating anecdotal material and socioeconomic analysis in this history of Jewish name-changing in New York City in the mid-20th century. Formal petitions by Jews to anglicize or otherwise change their names-a somewhat cumbersome and expensive process-increased in the 1940s from 250-300 per year to 800. Fermaglich shows how, particularly in the 1940s and '50s, name changing was undertaken overwhelmingly by native-born Jews who lived in largely upper-middle-class neighborhoods, not out of self-hatred but because, in a time of considerable anti-Semitism, they sought a measure of "personal invisibility" to afford themselves more educational and professional opportunities. She discusses how the end of mass anti-Semitism (in the second half of the century) and the growth of ethnic pride among Jews (and others) led not only to a significant decline in Jewish name changing but also to the practice being viewed with disfavor by many younger Jews. She pads her work a little at the end by cursorily discussing name-changing among other ethnic groups, including Arabs and Muslims in the post-9/11 era. Still, this is a fine contribution to an important, previously underexplored area of American Jewish identity and social history. (Oct.) c Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Fermaglich (history, Jewish studies, Michigan State Univ.; American Dreams and Nazi Nightmares) has written an important history of the evolution of Jewish name-changing in America, not specifically as an escape from Jewish identity but as a means toward greater access to success in social, cultural, and political life in 20th-century America. In tracing the balancing act between the desire to become more American while -experiencing the loss of ethnic pride, this scholarly book shows that most name-changing came about as a result of anti-Semitism both before and after World War II. Using court documents and other public records, Fermaglich demonstrates that Jewish name-changing was an important sociological phenomenon from the 1910s to the 1960s. The well-written and thoroughly documented narrative effectively demonstrates the struggle that individuals underwent to become fully realized as Jewish Americans. VERDICT Highly recommended for general readers as well as academic collections of Jewish studies, ethnic studies, and immigration studies.-Herbert E. Shapiro, Lifelong -Learning Soc., Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca Raton © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An exploration of how, during times of social stress and rampant anti-Semitism, large numbers of Jews in America formally applied to change their names to less ethnically identifiable ones. Fermaglich (History and Jewish Studies/Michigan State Univ.; American Dreams and Nazi Nightmares: Early Holocaust Consciousness and Liberal America, 1957-1965, 2006, etc.) looks at the applications for name changes in New York City from the 1920s to the present. She notes that the "institutionalized" anti-Semitism in the country following World War I prompted many to register for a name change; sometimes, entire families did so. The changers usually felt that their patently Jewish names were hurting them regarding employment, residence, college applications, and other areas. As the author notes, sometimes these changes created conflict in familiesand among the general Jewish population, who occasionally found such changes to be evidence of self-loathing and of disrespect for cultural history. But as Fermaglich demonstrates, the trend has diminished: Non-Jewish Americans have become less openly biased against Jews, and colleges have removed application questions designed to identify Jews. In NYC today, Jews no longer dominate the requests for name changes. The author clearly spent hours poring through official records in the city (she provides some charts and other illustrations), and she offers summaries of similar research done elsewhere in the country and shows us how the name-changing practice appeared in the popular culture throughout the decades. Some familiar names pop up in her discussionse.g., Arthur Miller, Henry Roth, Bernard Malamud, and Philip Roth. The text is academic in tone and presentation (40 pages of endnotes follow), and the virtual absence of subheadings and breaks of other sorts renders the volume not entirely reader-friendly. However, the rewards for resolute readers are considerable.Fermaglich's thorough research and bright insights produce a provocative account of a seldom-explored cultural phenomenon. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
