For those who once found respite from their usual activities in the Catskills, this collection of essays is a wonderful reminder. For everyone else, the book helps to provide a permanent record of an era that is a vital part of American Jewish History.
Morton Teicher Jewish Advocate Phil Brown's new book... is Catskills gold, a rich collection of ... Read moreshort stories, essays, excerpts of novels and memoirs, along with vintage photographs, menus, postcards, and song lyrics. More than a nostalgic album, the book is evocative, serious, literary, and fun, too. The Jewish Week A nostalgic pastiche of fiction, memoir, photography, art, postcards, menus, etc., celebrating Jewish resort life in the Catskills. Providence Journal (RI) A warm, witty and schmaltzy book. Newark Star-Ledger A gripping and powerful depiction of a traumatized and emergent community engaged in the pursuit of leisure. The fiction, essays and memoirs all share a dreamlike intensity of emotion and degree of detail that create the sense that the contributors are still revisiting the Catskills in their sleep and trying to describe it when they wake. National Post Brown has been the unofficial historian of this part of the Jewish-American experience, and this anthology... is a great look at the history of Catskill culture. Publishers Weekly Delightful. The Jerusalem Post Whether describing the history and landscape of the Catskill region, the culinary inventions, or the legendary entertainment, this anthology evokes all the flavors and memories of a bygone era. Brandeis Review Phil Brown's edited collection is a warm, charming, and valuable work. Much of the writing is simply gorgeous, a mixture of meticulously remembered details and the wisdom of the passing years.
Paul Buhle Contemporary Sociology Show Less