A highly readable introduction to an an important new American population.

This lively, moving narrative provides the first comprehensive account of the immigration of nearly 500,000 Soviet Jews to the US between 1967 and 1997. By weaving a wide variety of immigrant voices and photographs together with historical, journalistic, social service, and psychological studies of Soviet Jewish immigration, Annelise Orleck offers a thorough and highly readable introduction to the history, politics, and culture of this important new American population.

Topics covered include the varied reasons for their exodus from the Soviet Union, their experiences in the US, the communities they have created, and the cultural problems they have encountered. Orleck dispels stereotypical notions about Soviet Jewish immigrants by exploring the tremendous social, political, and cultural diversity of the nearly half million Soviet Jews now living in the US.

"Written in [an] engaging style, this book tells how these emigrés accommodated themselves to life in the US. More than half of them -- perhaps 300,000 -- settled in New York. Their achievements and failures are described with interesting anecdotes about particular people to illustrate the particular points being made. A number of fascinating pages are devoted to Brighton Beach where many Russian Jews, including gangsters, made their homes A comprehensive account is given of the Russian Jews who live in California. This balanced narrative describes the complex immigrant adjustment process with due consideration for the many elements that contribute to or complicate that achievement." -- Jerusalem Post

"[A] testament to the diversity of the people we commonly lump together as 'Russian Jews' . . . The book is well written and contains a good current bibliography, siginificant statistical information, many photographs, and thoughtful insights based on the author's keen observations and interviews with her subjects. Orleck draws deeply upon personal narratives and testimonies in her text, and these make the book personal and highly readable." -- American Jewish History

"A fine book, covering many dimensions of this group
's fate in the United States and linking their story with both earlier American Jewish migrants and contemporary non-Jewish entrants. Well written and engaging, based on both archival research and first-hand interviews, it will appeal to novice and expert alike." -- Journal of American Ethnic History

"This lively, moving narrative provides the first comprehensive account of the immigration of nearly 500,000 Soviet Jews to the United States between 1967 and 1997. . . this book offers a highly readable introduction to the history, politics, and culture of this important new American population." -- American Reference Books Annual

Annelise Orleck is Associate Professor of History, Dartmouth College. She is author of Common Sense and a Little Fire (1995) and coeditor, with Alexis Jeter and Diana Taylor, of The Politics of Motherhood: Activist Voices from Left to Right (UPNE, 1997).

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