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Learn moreA probing biography of world-renowned Jewish singer and actor Al Jolson and the history of his performance in and the making of The Jazz Singer
Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson, immigrated from a shtetl in Lithuania to the United States in 1894 after his father secured a job as a rabbi in Washington, D.C. A poor, Yiddish-speaking newcomer navigating a racially segregated and antisemitic America, young Jolson dreamed of becoming a star, and he did. Thanks to his immense talent and his knack for assimilating into new environments, by the time he reached his twenties he was the most famous and highly paid entertainer in America, making almost $5,000 a week at a time when the average American made $800 a year. Jolson’s public adoration and widespread acceptance as a star marked the beginning of an enriching cultural transformation, a moment when the American mind opened up to ethnic and racial differences, widening the gap of acceptability. And yet Jolson himself, despite being ferociously ambitious and gigantically talented, was crippled by insecurity, often nervous to the point of collapse, prisoner to his many vices.
Through Jolson, Bernstein simultaneously breaks open the history and legacy of the cultural sensation The Jazz Singer. Not only was The Jazz Singer the first feature length film with synchronized music and dialogue, but it was also taboo smashing in its content: The Jazz Singer is all about Jews, Orthodox and otherwise. Bernstein expounds on the making of The Jazz Singer, what the film meant then and now, introducing the many individuals involved in its production, including Samson Raphaelson, a young Jewish writer whose short story was the basis for the movie; the four Warner brothers, who made a fortune off it; and George Jessel, Jolson’s rival and the star of Raphaelson's stage adaptation of his short story. In the background emerges a picture of old Hollywood in the Roaring Twenties: cutthroat and greedy yet visionary and progressive. And while The Jazz Singer represented the future in many ways, it also dredged up the worst of the past, including Jolson’s use of blackface, common at the time.
At once a tale of the Judaizing of American culture and an acknowledgment of the challenges to come, Only in America is a glistening examination of a man at the center of a watershed moment in the arts.
RICHARD BERNSTEIN has been a reporter, foreign correspondent, and culture critic for forty years, starting at Time magazine, then at The New York Times, and currently as a freelance writer. His foreign postings for Time and The New York Times include Hong Kong, Beijing, Paris, and Berlin. He has written ten books and articles for numerous publications, including The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, and others. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Reviews
“They say Al Jolson was the most mesmerizing performer of his generation, and, in Bernstein’s mesmerizing story of his life, you can understand why. An essential read for anyone interested in the birth of modern popular entertainment.” —Jeremy Dauber, author of Jewish Comedy: A Serious History“Richard Bernstein’s brilliant book is not only a portrait of Al Jolson, the fiercely sentimental and commanding performing genius, but a detailed evocation of the culture Jolson came out of—the immigrant Eastern European Jews, the clashes between generations, the astonishing success early in the last century welcoming Jolson and other Jewish entertainers like a shower of gold.” —David Denby, author of Lit Up
“Fascinating . . . In remaking himself, [Jolson] helped remake America . . . Bernstein tells his version in remarkably concise fashion, interspersing the basic facts of Jolson’s life with rich layers of cultural history.” —Ann Levin, Forward
“A revealing study of a pioneering if problematic entertainer. . . . Within [The Jazz Singer’s] plot, Bernstein finds a rich allegory not just for Jolson’s life but for the experience of Jews in America.” —Kirkus Reviews
“The story of Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer is, in Richard Bernstein’s capable hands, the story of a generation of Jews in the entertainment industry. It serves as a timely reminder of what America meant to successful immigrants and their children. Replete with insights concerning sensitive issues like assimilation, intermarriage, the generational divide, and Black-Jewish relations, Only in America deserves a wide readership.” —Jonathan D. Sarna, Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University
“Only in America is a meticulously researched and captivating literary performance that not only chronicles the remarkable rise of a Jewish immigrant to stardom but also vividly depicts the emergence of popular entertainment in the early twentieth century as a beacon of opportunity for both Jewish and Black communities.” —Clémence Boulouqe, Carl and Bernice Witten Associate Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies, Columbia University Expand reviews
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