Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, not...
I would love to read this one -- but probably not until February or March. I'll be booked up until then.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/sep/26/new-deal-we-didnt-know/
It sounds like a very interesting book!
ReplyDeleteNice picture by the way.
ReplyDeletehere's a meander:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/automobiles/collectibles/in-nebraska-a-field-of-low-mileage-dreams.html?hp
a baby boomer's dream fulfilled
Chevy 1956-58 Bel Airs still very popular after all these years. 1960s Vettes still real hot as well.
Seems to me an auction is in order. Would augment the Lambrecht's retirement nicely.
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