At the beginning of the 80s, when this book was published, Jewish intellectuals continued to be an interesting topic. Nowadays, I would rather say that they might be interesting from the point of view of their specialization: writers, scientists, artists in various domains. Or not interesting at all.
The interest at the time was understandable: after long decades of fight with a system not so friendly with the Jews, the new Jewish elites were taken into consideration by the establishment.
New York was and continues to be an important hot potato for the main intellectual mainstream, hence the focus of the articles. The authors are covering many perspectives, geographical areas - Bronx, Harlem, Brooklyn - and denominations. Their origins - Russian, German - are diverse as well. Some are writing about their literary adventures (I.B.Singer) or about their stages of the assumed assimilation (Hans Morgenthau), about their connection with the other minorities (Dan Morgenstern, on the Jewish-Black connection) or the return to Jewish values after facing the precarious situation of the Soviet Jewry (Ted Solotaroff).
Overall, it was an extremely interesting intellectual trip.
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