COALFIELD JEWS: An Appalachian History

Amazon.com Price: $28.00 (as of 16/04/2019 10:23 PST- Details)

Description

The stories of vibrant eastern European Jewish communities within the Appalachian coalfields

Coalfield Jews explores the intersection of two simultaneous historic events: central Appalachia’s transformative coal boom (1880s-1920), and the mass migration of eastern European Jews to The usa. Traveling to southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and southwestern Virginia to research the coal boom’s opportunities, some Jewish immigrants found success as retailers and established a large number of small but flourishing Jewish communities.

Deborah R. Weiner’s Coalfield Jews provides the first extended study of Jews in Appalachia, exploring where they settled, how they made their place within a surprisingly receptive dominant culture, how they competed with coal company stores, interacted with their non-Jewish neighbors, and maintained a strong Jewish identity deep within the heart of the Appalachian mountains. To inform this story, Weiner draws on a variety of number one sources in social, cultural, religious, labor, economic, and regional history.  She also includes moving personal statements, from oral histories in addition to archival sources, to create a holistic portrayal of Jewish life in order to challenge usually held views of Appalachia in addition to the American Jewish experience.

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