Against All Odds is the first comprehensive look at the 140;000 Jewish Holocaust survivors who came to America and the lives they have made here. William Helmreich writes of their experiences beginning with their first arrival in the United States: the mixed reactions they encountered from American Jews who were not always eager to receive them; their choices about where to live in America; and their efforts in finding marriage partners with whom they felt most comfortable―most often other survivors.In preparation; Helmreich spent more than six years traveling the United States; listening to the personal stories of hundreds of survivors; and examining more than 15;000 pages of data as well as new material from archives that have never before been available to create this remarkable; groundbreaking work. What emerges is a picture that is sharply different from the stereotypical image of survivors as people who are chronically depressed; anxious; and fearful.This intimate; enlightening work explores questions about prevailing over hardship and adversity: how people who have gone through such experiences pick up the threads of their lives; where they obtain the strength and spirit to go on; and; finally; what lessdns the rest of us can learn about overcoming tragedy.
#2608812 in Books 2009-10-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .82 x 5.98l; 1.19 #File Name: 1558497609372 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Intriguing and movingBy Jude SilveiraThis scholarly work examines New Bedford's unique role as America's most diverse and tolerant city --- a diversity born of whaling; a tolerance rooted in its Quaker roots origins. In no other city we're America's blacks as free and as safe as they were in New Bedford.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Nice JobBy Blue SkyI enjoyed reading this book. The details pulled together in compiling this work are exhaustive. As a genealogist using some of the same databases for analysis of my work I would find nothing to critique in methodology. The work to examine the comunity of color in New Bedford creates a temple that would be worth applying to other cities on the eastern seaboard. A book well worth reading.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy CustomerGood book. Still enjoying
