Selma C. Berrol – författare

This book is a comparative study of similar people in different environments at the same point in time. The six chapters discuss why eastern European Jews came to London and New York, the differences and similarities in the settlement process, the schools they found and the use they made of them, and the mobility they achieved. The study concludes that individual and societal conditions made it impossible for more than a small proportion of the generation that grew to maturity before the first world war to use schooling as a road to the middle class. In general, the Russian and Polish Jews who came to New York reached the middle class sooner than those who remained in London and thus can be said to have made the better choice.

There has always been a symbiotic relationship between New York City and the people who have settled there. This study traces the major developments on Manhattan Island, which began as a base for privateering, as it evolved into one of the world's great cities. At the same time, the author also describes the background, the adjustments that had to be made to the New World, and the contributions of the millions who chose to settle there. There are six chronological chapters, each discussing the groups who came in the years as covered by that chapter, the city as it was when they arrived, what they added to the city, and how life in New York enabled most to improve their lives. The Irish laborers who came in the middle of the 19th century, for example, contributed enormously to the building of a clean water system. The wages earned from this work allowed them to feed, house and clothe their families while enabling the city to avoid the frequent cholera epidemics that had devastated the city in earlier years.

There has always been a symbiotic relationship between New York City and the people who have settled there. This study traces the major developments on Manhattan Island, which began as a base for privateering, as it evolved into one of the world's great cities. At the same time, the author also describes the background, the adjustments that had to be made to the New World, and the contributions of the millions who chose to settle there. There are six chronological chapters, each discussing the groups who came in the years as covered by that chapter, the city as it was when they arrived, what they added to the city, and how life in New York enabled most to improve their lives. The Irish laborers who came in the middle of the 19th century, for example, contributed enormously to the building of a clean water system. The wages earned from this work allowed them to feed, house and clothe their families while enabling the city to avoid the frequent cholera epidemics that had devastated the city in earlier years.

This book is a case study of a unique educational institution. For 130 years, the growth and development of Baruch College has paralleled and reflected changes in New York City. Berrol shows how the school, which was started in 1847 as a Free Academy to provide training for the clerks and professionals needed in a growing mercantile city, survived through several stages of development to emerge as an independent college in 1968. She contends that this survival is due, in no small measure, to the college's ability to meet the needs of New York City as it grew from mid-19th century commercial prominence to its current position as this nation's corporate and financial headquarters. Most of the book is devoted to the twentieth century, when the school fought for recognition from its parent--the City College of New York. In large part precipitated by the demands of Blacks and Hispanics for increased educational opportunity, it was separated from City in 1968 and renamed Baruch College.By using data and insights from urban and ethnic studies, Berrol demonstrates how Baruch College mirrored the changing ethnicity and economy of New York City and fulfilled its role as the gatekeeper to the middle class. Additionally, the book provides a window through which to view the history of New York City as a whole. Getting Down to Business will be a useful adjunct for courses in urban and business history and the history of higher education.