Special Sorrows - by Matthew Frye Jacobson (Paperback)

About the Book

"Jacobson's book impressively lives up to its stark and splendid title, which is borrowed from Polish-Jewish revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg's capsule description of the bonds uniting people into nations. For the immigrants whom Jacobson considers, nationalist sorrows seemed especially tragic, as they were felt and resisted in exile from the nations whose causes were being championed. "Special Sorrows "carefully delineates the centrality of Jewish, Polish and Irish supporters in the United States to national liberation movements abroad and, as expertly, details how such movements shaped immigrant life in the United States."--David Roediger, from the Foreword

Book Synopsis

"A scholarly study of the real roots of what Jacobson calls 'America's largely assimilated but ultimately "unmeltable" ethics.' It's a startling point of view for readers who are accustomed to the self-congratulatory myth of America as a beacon of liberty to which the 'huddled masses' of the world look with longing."-Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times

From the Back Cover

"Jacobson's book impressively lives up to its stark and splendid title, which is borrowed from Polish-Jewish revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg's capsule description of the bonds uniting people into nations. For the immigrants whom Jacobson considers, nationalist sorrows seemed especially tragic, as they were felt and resisted in exile from the nations whose causes were being championed. Special Sorrows carefully delineates the centrality of Jewish, Polish and Irish supporters in the United States to national liberation movements abroad and, as expertly, details how such movements shaped immigrant life in the United States."--David Roediger, from the Foreword

Review Quotes

"Jacobson's pathbreaking and provocative book focuses on the continuing Old World attachments of America's Irish, Polish, and East European Jewish immigrants. Using an impressive array of foreign-language sources, Jacobson demonstrates that nationalist images rooted in the Old World suffused both popular and literary immigrant culture. . . . This is one of the most significant studies of immigrant life in a many a year."--J. D. Sarna, from "CHOICE

About the Author

Matthew Frye Jacobson is Professor of American Studies at Yale University and author of Whiteness of a Different Color (1998) and Barbarian Virtues (2000).