Postville:
A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America
by Stephen Bloom
Harcourt Brace, 2000

In 1987, a group of Lubavitcher Jews, among the most orthodox and zealous of Jewish sects, opened a kosher slaughterhouse just outside tiny Postville, Iowa (pop. 1,432). When it became a worldwide success, Postville found itself both revived and riven, as the town's initial welcome of the Jews turned to confusion, dismay, and even disgust. By 1997, the town voted on what was essentially a referendum: yes or no on whether these Jews should stay.

A laboratory of ethnic strife, Postville is at the leading edge of the new wave of immigration in the heartland. Its story digs deeply into the questions that haunt America nationwide: how to build community, how to accommodate diverse but equally powerful traditions, how small towns can compete with big money. Stephen Bloom's vibrant, dramatic portrait of Postville's troubles is a haunting metaphor for America today.

About the author
Stephen Bloom, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Iowa, has been a journalist for more than 20 years. He has worked as a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, Dallas Morning News, San Jose Mercury News, and Sacramento Bee.

In 1992, he served as press secretary to San Francisco mayor Frank Jordan. His freelance work has appeared in many publications, inculding the New York Times Magazine, the Chicago Tribune Magazine, Family Circle, Money, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Washington Post. He is a frequent contributer to Salon.com.

Books by Stephen Bloom
Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America (Harcourt Brace, 2000)