May 2026: Jewish American Heritage Month

Apr 30, 2026 | Announcements, Library

By Research Librarian Jessica Zaricki

Each May, hundreds of organizations and Americans of all backgrounds connect to discover, explore, and celebrate the vibrant and varied American Jewish experience from the earliest days of our nation to the present. Please join us in celebrating our Jewish friends and neighbors through this month’s curated booklist.

Members, find the listed titles on display in the Sawtelle Reading Room through the month of May.

Strange Wives

LITERATURE

This work of historical fiction by local author Shirley Barker explores the building of Touro Synagogue and the development of Newport, Rhode Island’s Jewish community.

Barker, Shirley. Strange Wives. PS3503 .A5684 S7 1963

The Boston Girl
LITERATURE

Another work of historical fiction, this time following the life of one woman, Addie Baum, through a period of dramatic change. Addie is The Boston Girl, the spirited daughter of an immigrant Jewish family, born in 1900 to parents who were unprepared for America and its effect on their three daughters. At 85, she recounts her adventures, giving the reader a unique glimpse at immigrant life during the early 20th century.

Diamant, Anita. The Boston Girl. PS3554 .I227 B68 2015

Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories
LITERATURE

Singer’s collection of short stories is a landmark work that has attracted international acclaim. The title story follows the exploits of Gimpel, an ingenuous baker who is universally deceived but who declines to retaliate against his tormentors. Gimpel and the protagonists of the other stories all inhabit the distinctive pre–World War II shtetls of Poland and, beyond that, the larger world created by Singer’s unforgettable prose.

Singer, Isaac Bashevis. Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories. PJ5129 .S49 G513 1980

Jacob H. Schiff: A Study in American Jewish Leadership
BIOGRAPHY

The life of Jacob Schiff (1847 – 1920), banker, financier, and leader of the American Jewish community from 1880 to 1920, is in many ways the quintessential story of an immigrant’s success in America. Part of a wealthy and powerful German Jewish circle that included the Warburgs and Rothschilds, Schiff played a central role in shaping American and European Jewish history. From his base on Wall Street, he was the foremost Jewish leader in what became known as the “Schiff era,” grappling with all major issues and problems of the day, including the plight of Russian Jews under the czar, American and international anti-Semitism, care of needy Jewish immigrants, and the rise of Zionism.

Cohen, Naomi W. Jacob H. Schiff: A Study in American Jewish Leadership.

My Own Words
BIOGRAPHY

This book is a collection of a collection of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s essays, speeches, and statements from the bench dating from her childhood through 2016. There are brief introductions to place the passages in the context of her life and their times. The book works well to give a sense of the life and passions of the second woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court.

Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, with Mary Hartnett and Wendy W. Williams. My Own Words.

A Life in Words
BIOGRAPHY

This biography presents a comprehensive look at the life of lyricist Ira Gershwin and examines his partnership with his brother, composer George Gershwin, his solo career, and his later career. Author Michael Owen makes use of the variety of primary resources available to him as the archivist of the Gershwin estate including personal letters, diaries, production notes, and business correspondence.

Owen, Michael. Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words.

The Prodigy: A Biography of William James Sidis, America’s Greatest Child Prodigy
BIOGRAPHY

William James Sidis (1898-1944) was born to a psychologist with some unorthodox ideas about child rearing, attended Harvard at an absurdly young age, burned out at 14, and spent most of the rest of his life working menial jobs and living in poverty. Dubbed a “failed prodigy” by the popular press, he lived out his years as an eccentric and a recluse. The truth is a lot more complex than this, and the “failure” a matter of perspective, as shown in this remarkable biography. Sidis spent time in Portsmouth, NH, during his youth as his father was Boris Sidis, founder of the Sidis Psychotherapeutic Institute at Maplewood Farm.

Wallace, Amy. The Prodigy: A Biography of William James Sidis, America’s Greatest Child Prodigy.

Historical New Hampshire: Portsmouth in Three Centuries
NON-FICTION

This issue of Historical New Hampshire includes an article on the Shapiro family and the role they played in establishing a Russian Jewish community in the Puddle Dock neighborhood at the turn of the 20th century.

Historical New Hampshire: Portsmouth in Three Centuries. F44 .P8 H57 2002

The Jews in Early America: A Chronicle of Good Taste and Good Deeds
NON-FICTION

The introduction to this book places the arrival of Jewish settlers in the American colonies within the context of the greater Jewish diaspora by recognizing them as fleeing from the Spanish Inquisition by way of Holland. It then shares the stories of notable members of Jewish communities through a variety of objects left behind.

Malamed, Sandra Cumings. The Jews in Early America: A Chronicle of Good Taste and Good Deeds. E184.35 .M35 2003

Places We Live In; Places We’ve Left Behind: A Compilation of Personal Memoirs Written by Members of the Seacoast Jewish Community
NON-FICTION

This volume contains personal narratives from 13 members of the Jewish community in Seacoast NH and was the result of a writing workshop that took place at Temple Israel in Portsmouth during the fall of 1996. Their efforts created a written record of Jewish life in 20th century America, preserving their memories for future generations.

Places We Live In; Places We’ve Left Behind: A Compilation of Personal Memoirs Written by Members of the Seacoast Jewish Community. F44 .P8 T45 1997

Lincoln and the Jews: A History
NON-FICTION

President Abraham Lincoln’s lifetime coincided with the second major wave of Jewish immigration—this time from Central Europe. While many Americans were alarmed by this development and treated Jews as second-class citizens and religious outsiders, Lincoln took a very different approach. He befriended Jews from a young age, promoted Jewish equality, appointed numerous Jews to public office, had Jewish advisors and supporters starting already from the early 1850s, as well as later during his two presidential campaigns, and in response to Jewish sensitivities, even changed the way he thought and spoke about America.

Sarna, Jonathan D. and Benjamin Shapell. Lincoln and the Jews: A History. E457.2 .S327 2015

IMAGE: The Shapiro family were Jewish immigrants from Anapol in Ukraine, arriving in the U.S. in what is known as a “chain migration.” Members of the Shapiro family lived in Portsmouth and they are seen posing in front of an unidentified house. Copy negative. Courtesy of Bruce Ingmire. PS1100.