Berenbaum, Michael, After Tragedy and Triumph: Modern Jewish Thought and the American Experience, Cambridge University Press, 1990.

As the project director for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Berenbaum has unique expertise on how this and other important chapters in Jewish history figure into modern American Jewish thought. This book compiles thirteen essays that give insight into the complexities of the topic.

Chametzky, Jules, John Felstiner, Hilene Flanzbaum, and Kathryn Hellerstein, eds., Jewish American Literature: A Norton Anthology, Norton, 2000.

This comprehensive anthology includes biographical sketches and work samples of 145 writers from all genres. The editors give a full picture, from the seventeenth century to the present, of the literary contributions made by Jewish Americans.

Kooser, Ted, The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets, University of Nebraska Press, 2005.

Known for his accessible writing style, Kooser has earned a reputation as a poet of stature...