Basic HTML Version
1 7 4
JEWISH BOOK ANNUAL
same period the number o f University Press books in Jewish
Studies has grown at an even more accelerated pace, from an av
erage o f 8 titles per year to an average o f 40 titles per year. This
constitutes a 500% increase, compared with only a 300% increase
in the total output o f Judaica books. We find an even larger in
crease in the number o f University Presses that have published
titles o f Jewish interest and a growing number o f book series in
Judaic Studies. While Salamon Faber, in 1970, mentioned 7 uni
versity series in the field, we note many newcomers in recent
years. The Judaic Studies series at the University o f Alabama
Press began with the publication in August 1969 o f
Judaism De
spite Christianity,
edited by Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy. The publi
cation o f
Dori: The Life and Times o f Theodor Herzl in Budapest
by
Andrew Handler, brings to twelve the number o f titles in the
series. Brown Judaic Studies lists in its catalog over 60 titles, with
the first one published only 5 years ago.17 Indiana University
Press has announced recently three new series: Jewish Literature
and Culture, edited by Alvin Rosenfeld; the Modern Jewish
Experience, whose editors are Paula Hyman and Deborah Dash
Moore; and Contemporary Jewry, under the editorship o f Daniel
J. Elazar and Steven M. Cohen. The number o f University
Presses which have published titles in Judaica has also grown,
from less than 10 in the forties to a few score in the eighties.
Which Universities have presses that are involved in the pro
duction o f Jewish Studies books? In the early years o f the period
surveyed, we note that most titles published by University Presses
were the product o f a small group o f universities, mostly on the
East Coast and in the Ivy League. From the outset, universities
like Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, Wayne State,
the University o f Chicago, and the University o f Pennsylvania
published titles in Jewish Studies. O f these early leaders, some
preserved their leadership role, as shown by the production table
for the seventies (Appendix 5). In addition to the strong newcom
ers who place among the top ten Judaica publishers, there are
scores o f University Presses that have added fewer titles, some o f
which, however, represent substantial contributions.
Thus far we have drawn attention to a dual growth: in the abso
lute numbers o f Jewish studies titles published by University
Presses, and in the number o f University Presses involved. Addi
tional growth can be pointed out in the market share o f the Uni
versity Presses in the field. While in the forties University Presses