Ron was by the house last week and asked me to help him with this title. I read it over the weekend and can recommend it highly. Ron is an active member of Jewish Gen and a hard working geneologist and general researcher. This book, described below, is not one of those "Jews in Sports," type books. Though readable and straight-forward it is a mountain of hard facts, hard because they are solid and hard because they are sometimes unpleasant to admit to about our community. It is helpful in showing just how much can come of geneological research. It is an important original work in the field of Jewish studies and in the field of Criminality.
I am selling new copies for $22.95 postpaid (within the US. Overseas shipping quoted on request). Call 415-831-3228 or email to order a copy. Arons, Ron. "The Jews of Sing Sing: Gotham Ganster and Gonuvim." Fort Lee, New Jersey, Barricade Books, 2008. First Edition. ISBN: 978-1-56980-333-2. Octavo in dust jacket, xx, 350 pp., b/w photos, sources by chapter, index. Hardbound. As New. "If you learned that one of your ancestors served time at one of America's most infanous prisons, would you tel anyone or try to keep the information a secret? Ron Arons faced this dilemma a decade ago when he learned that his great-grandfather had done a "stretch" in Sing-Sing. Rather than suppress this story, he embarked on a journey to learn more about why his ancestor had committed crimes that landed him in jail. Soon after, Arons decided to expand upon the topic by exploring all Jews who served time in the famous prison "up the river" from Manhattan. Maybe it should come as no surprise, given the prison's proximity to Manhattan, that between 1880 and 1950, there were thousands of Jews behind bars at Sing Sing. The Jews of Sing Sing traces the histories of both famous gangsters and lesser-known gonuvim, exploring their childhoods and the lives of the people around them, as well [as] the impact they had on their descendants. These inmates were complex individuals who, on many levels, tried to live normal lives. Many exhibited a sense of humor and cunning, using aliases and teking imaginative steps to avoid law enforcement officials. The Jews of Sing Sing also reveals forgotten details surrounding many of the more well known gangsters, debunking many popular myths and showing their interconnectedness over the decades." from flap copy. Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
