Looking at Montreal's Jewish community during the first half of the twentieth century, Margolis explores the lives and works of activists, writers, scholars, performers, and organizations that fuelled a still-thriving community. She also considers the foundations and development of Yiddish cultural life in Montreal in its interaction with broader issues of diasporic Jewish culture. An illuminating look at the ways in which Yiddish culture was maintained in North America, Jewish Roots, Canadian Soil is the story of how a minority culture was transplanted and transformed.

Rebecca Margolis is an associate professor in the Vered Jewish Canadian Studies Program at the University of Ottawa.

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"This is an engaging narrative that contributes greatly to the history of immigration and our knowledge of Canada's ethnic groups." Alexander Freund, University of Winnipeg

"Rebecca Margolis' fine study deepens our knowledge of Montreal and immigrant centers elsewhere. It is not just a local history, but a study with important implications for understanding modern Jewish history, as well as the history of Canadian immigration, in a broad frame." Tony Michels, Department of History, University of Wisconsin

"A welcome addition to the field of Canadian Jewish Studies that will appeal to both specialists and those interested in the evolution of multi-culturalism in Canada." Franklin Bialystok, Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Toronto