ANNELISE ORLECK

HISTORY, JEWISH STUDIES, WOMEN'S AND GENDER STUDIES

FAVORITE BOOKS TO TEACH:

Coming of Age in Mississippi, by Anne Moody

Sisterhood is Powerful, a 1970 anthology edited by Robin Morgan

MUST-READ BOOKS IN YOUR FIELD:

I've Got the Light of Freedom, by Charles Payne Voices of Protest, by Alan Brinkley

FAVORITE PLEASURE READ:

History, by Elsa Morante

CURRENTLY READING:

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon

I particularly enjoy teaching primary sources that vividly evoke the consciousness of a particular group at a particular time. Coming ofAge and Sisterhood are books that spark engaged and emotional discussions, forcing students to reckon with the passions of two very different political moments.

There are far too many truly great books in U.S. history to narrow down the field to one. I have taught often and greatly admire Charles Payne's civil rights movement study and Brinkley's 1930s study of Huey Long and Father Coughlin.