The Defining Decade: Identity, Politics, and the Canadian Jewish Community in the 1960s

‘This is no dry academic tome and, as in his previous books, Troper is a fine raconteur. The book caps extensive research into previously untold stories of individuals and institutions that populated the Jewish community’s landscape in the 1960s and is replete with colourful anecdotes and quotes from literary and news publications of the time… This volume should appeal especially to the current generation of Jewish leaders and activists, who know little of how what they now take for granted came about.’ Shira Herzog: Literary Review of Canada, May 2011

‘The Defining Decade is a thoroughly researched, well written account of Canadian Jewish community's emergence from the shadows into daylight… The author's obvious scholarship is embellished with incisive observations, telling statistics, crisp anecdotes and occasional splashes of humour. This book should appeal to readers who have a hearty interest in Canadian and Toronto Jewish history.’ Bill Gladstone, The Canadian Jewish News, March 22, 2012

Canadian Jewry during the 1960s underwent major transformations as the community grew in size, diversified, and asserted itself in new ways. A nuanced portrait of one ethnic community's evolving self-perception, The Defining Decade tells this compelling story with energy, clarity, and purpose. Gerald Tulchinsky, Department of History, Queen's University

'This wonderfully written and well-researched book adds an important facet to our evolving understanding of the sixties, firmly and passionately planting the Jewish "third solitude" experience of the period within its Canadian and international contexts. Troper shows how the Canadian Jewish identity was jolted not only by the activism and not-so-quiet revolutions of sixties North America, but also by the dramatic politics of Israel and the Middle East, especially the 1967 Six Day War. Essential reading for anyone who wants to truly understand the full sixties experience in Canada.' Dimitry Anastakis, Department of History, Trent University, and editor, The Sixties: Passion, Politics, and Style

'Harold Troper has written the definitive book about what he calls the Defining Decade. This insightful, well-written, lively work not only tells the story of Canadian Jewry during the 1960s, but it illuminates important changes that were occurring throughout Canadian society and among Canadian Jewry's prominent next-door neighbour, the American Jewish community.' Gil Troy, Professor of History, McGill University