I really enjoyed this book, especially as an American Jew whose family lived in Canada while waiting to be let into the United States after they first came over from Europe (and there have been many moments in the last four years when I wished they had never left Canada after that!). Even though the Canadian Jewish community is smaller than the American one, this collection of essays provides a great introduction to how diverse and interesting the Canadian Jewish experience is. Given its academic nature--and the fact that our public library's Judaism collection, while decent for what it is, is more focused on American Jewish interest titles--this book might be a less immediate purchasing priority for us, but I would absolutely recommend to my synagogue for their library and/or book club, and to readers interested in Canada, Judaism, the international Jewish experience, or any combination thereof.

This collection of essays edited by David. S. Koffman is simply wonderful. It has serious defects perhaps and much that is debatable. The point to me about this book is that it tackles two seemingly contradictory questions. First how multicultural diversity in Canada affects an already highly diverse group, that of Jewish Canadians. Secondly what constitutes success in such a society. There are no straight answers and the reader will be left in agreement with Koffman that more scholarship in this area is necessary. The book is highly recommended as it opens up for discussion questions that are central to Canadian society and the Jewish experience within that society.