Ugggghh what a book that's still timely to read even close to 30 years after it's publishing.

I found this book fascinating and learned a lot from it. I've found that reading how America has hated shows us who we are and how we aren't that different from our past. Progress matters. Every step matters. At times, this is the best time to be alive and we can see how living openly against the White Christian American family dream is still controversial and fear inducing.

There's a lot to learn here and it's very academic. Dinnerstein keeps with the historical records and things that are easily traceable (newspapers, brochures, etc.) to show the path of Jews in America.

What I found interesting is the lack of pop culture references. Looking back in 2024, it's hard to imagine how much Americans hated people different them. It's why some things in old films and movies don't ring as true anymore. Like now, it feels like "oh you're Jewish, cool!" while in the past it was a different vibe.

Highly recommend diving into this. It's an important text that leans academic and can be cumbersone but worth reading.