The Art of the Jewish Family: A History of Women in Early New York in Five Objects

"The Art of the Jewish Family is an elegantly written, astonishingly researched, and persuasively argued collective biography of five early American, New York Jewish women. . . . From the moment that the book opens, we know that we are in the hands of a terrific writer. . . . Leibman's detailed analyses of the messages encoded in the objects is brilliant. . . . Given the power of the material and the grace of the writing, I would hope that this book would reach beyond scholars to the significantly wider audience of those outside the academy who are deeply interested in early American history. . . . I am in awe of Leibman's accomplishment."--Pamela Nadell, author of America's Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today "Jewish Review of Books"
"Complementing and enlivening the narrative, not just accompanying it, the volume's 96 images encompass painting, portraiture, and maps--a bonanza of visual information. Just when we've come to believe we know all there is to know about the early experiences of colonial and federal-era American Jews, Leibman reminds us how much more could be known if only we would deploy a different set of sources and ask a different set of questions. Through five sharply focused case studies, she takes her readers beyond the usual places--New York and Charleston, say--and sets them down in Barbados and Suriname of the 18th and early 19th centuries, whose robust Jewish life rendered that of the American colonies a poor cousin. . . . A harvest of ideas, The Art of the Jewish Family yields a rich ensemble profile of Jewish women of the 18th and 19th centuries, an invigorating consideration of history as a process, and a compelling argument for integrating material culture as a matter of course into any and all historical projects."-- "Jewish Review of Books"
"This is a pathbreaking volume by a master scholar."--Jonathan Sarna, author of American Judaism: A History "Jewish Review of Books"