Jews, Sports, and the Rites of Citizenship

Jack Kugelmass is a professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He is the author of The Miracle of Intervale Avenue.

"These essays are based on history and anthropology but they also offer a compelling analysis of modernity. . . . Citizenship and nationhood cannot be divorced from both the physical and the intellectual attributes of a group, which these authors clearly convey."--Contemporary Jewish Life "The eleven essays present some interesting topics and research."--Choice "What makes this collection significant is that it resists simply crowing about Jewish athletes . . . rather this collection brings together not sportswriters but rather historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and cultural theoreticians to give athletics a gravitas it seldom obtains. . . . The writing is at turns vivid, provocative, persuasive, speculative - never dry, never dull. Its essential theory - how athletics shapes cultural identity - is a rewarding and important premise for serious students of contemporary athletics."--Aethlon "This book provides scholars with a good introduction to an important topic."--American Jewish History "This stimulating collection of essays--covering the United States, Europe, and the Middle East--provides an unfailingly informative and engaging perspective on Jewish involvement in sports. . . . For students of ethnic studies and Jewish studies, and for general readers interested in sports or Judaism, the book is a must."--Stanley Brandes, professor of anthropology, University of California, Berkeley