Emerging Metropolis

Annie Polland's book traces how New York became a city defined by Jewish life. It centers on Jews from Central and Eastern Europe as they arrived in the city and began building new lives there, covering roughly the years 1840 to 1920.

Rather than looking at immigrant experience in isolation, the book examines how these newcomers adapted across economic, social, religious, political and cultural life. It shows how their hopes for freedom, safety and material prosperity became woven into the city's streets, buildings and wider physical landscape.