Standing on the Crack: Legacy of Five Jewish Families from Seattle’s Gilded Age, by Karen I. Treiger

Standing on the Crack: Legacy of Five Jewish Families from Seattle’s Gilded Age, by Karen I. Treiger

Born out of grief after the loss of her father, the author dives into old photos and family histories to search for answers and comfort. Bringing her ancestors to life, the author shares the stories of five immigrant Jewish families who shape Seattle’s early years, its retail culture and Seattle’s gilded age.  In this delightful book, Karen Treiger places herself in the long arc of history and invites the reader to join her time travel.  The story telling is masterful as she describes the origin of each family who emigrated to the United States from central and eastern Europe between 1874 and 1913. It’s full of tales, both funny and tragic, about ancestors that she knew and those that she didn’t.  Seattle grew from a small ramshackle town with dirt roads to a bustling metropolis with the Space Needle as our symbol.   This book tells Seattle’s history through the eyes of Jewish merchants who settled in the Pacific Northwest with hopes and dreams for themselves and especially their children.  These families transformed Seattle’s Jewish community and shaped Seattle’s retail culture. The book both educates and entertains.          

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