The Spirit of the Ghetto

About this book

More than eighty years after its publication, The Spirit of the Ghetto continues to be a fresh and illuminating commentary on an important aspect of American cultural history. Hutchins Hapgood, reared in the Yankee tradition, succeeded in understanding the inner life of the Lower East Side. His aim was not only to understand and interpret the events and scenes of this vital East European Jewish immigrant community, but also to find and interview its poets, scholars, dramatists, actors, and artists along with its merchants and businessmen. Without sentimentality or stereotype, he presents in words and beautiful drawings the real spirit of this community, a group of people working out their destiny as part of a vital Jewish world. - Back cover.