{"product_id":"the-last-of-the-ellis-island-jews-a-brooklyn-memoir-9798855808124","title":"The Last of the Ellis Island Jews: A Brooklyn Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA tragicomic memoir of a dysfunctional, working-class Brooklyn Jewish family.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Last of the Ellis Island Jews\u003c\/i\u003e is a tragicomic memoir of a dysfunctional working-class Brooklyn family that illuminates both the vitality of urban life in the twentieth century and the social turmoil of white flight. As a child of immigrants born to older parents, Dinerstein has a unique perspective on four generations--from his grandparents escaping Russia's pogroms to his parents' embattled marriage to his older Boomer siblings (split between feminist and Republican politics) to his own hippie hopes. As a white teenager in majority Black public schools, Dinerstein's firsthand experience led to his academic career as a scholar of race and music. Yet his family fits no paradigm of Jewish success due to a father with rage and gambling problems, resulting in the four siblings escaping early to the Brooklyn streets. As a family growing up with a diasporic identity, the Dinersteins provide a primer of ethnic Jewish culture through iconic scenes: a selfish Seder, a chaotic Bar Mitzvah, a videotaped bris, an allergy attack at Dachau, a staring contest with the Rebbe. Most of all, \u003ci\u003eThe Last of the Ellis Island Jews\u003c\/i\u003e is a chronicle of lost worlds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Excelsior Editions\/State University of New Yo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798855808124\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.58d","brand":"Joel Dinerstein","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52873215279285,"sku":"9798855808124","price":25.46,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-last-of-the-ellis-island-jews-a-brooklyn-memoir-9798855808124","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}