The Southern Jewish Historical Association recently awarded the quadrennial book prize to On Middle Ground: A History of the Jews of Baltimore (Johns Hopkins UP, 2018), co-authored by Emory Associate Professor Eric L. Goldstein. Goldstein’s co-author is Deborah R. Weiner. On Middle Ground argues that Baltimore stands out among large U.S. cities in that it is neither fully northern nor fully southern, and that the Jews of Baltimore have shared in this “middle” position. The prize committee noted that the authors “consistently ask the question of how Baltimore differed from comparable communities while still reflecting the broad social and economic patterns with which scholars of American Jewish history are familiar.” Read another committee member comment below and order a copy of the book here.

“[One] committee member wrote that On Middle Ground ‘can stand alone as a history of an important American city as well as a history of Jews who settled there.’ That the authors also manage to accomplish this feat in a manner that has the potential for appeal to a wide readership makes On Middle Ground a volume truly deserving of the SJHS book prize.”