Legacy of Rage: Jewish Masculinity, Violence and Culture »

"In books, television programs, and films, Jewish men are often depicted as erudite, comedic, malleable, and nonthreatening - somewhere between Clark Kent and the early Woody Allen. Yet as Warren Rosenberg shows in this illuminating study, this widespread cultural image is not only overly simplistic, it is at odds with a legacy of Jewish male violence that goes back to the first chapters of Genesis when Cain slew Abel."--BOOK JACKET.

Library Journal

Rosenberg (English, Wabash Coll.) here considers how Jewish masculinity has been perceived through literature and film. After examining the Hebrew Scriptures, he devotes the main part of his study to the works of 20th-century American Jewish writers, including Norman Mailer, Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, Cynthia Ozick, and Philip Roth. The author claims that Roth has been the most outspoken in his depiction of the nonviolent and almost passive American Jewish male. Rosenberg tries to counter this notion as he explores an ambivalent tradition that includes images of both warrior and peacemaker. He suggests new images culled from the works by Ozick and Tony Kushner that speak of renewal and transformation. The author frequently uses his own experience to highlight a theme, as when he details his passionate reaction to how filmmaker Stephen Spielberg portrayed an American soldier who is Jewish in Saving Private Ryan. Recommended for libraries with strong holdings in Jewish studies or sociology. Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.