This book will be of interest to people who are familiar with the small city of Gloversville, NY and to people who are interested in reading how a manufacturing town developed. Jews were instrumental in the development of the tanning and glovemaking industries which were established in this upstate New York town and this book does an admirable job of documenting their history from the late-1800s through the mid-1900s. While the writing is not a interesting as the subject matter, Engel does a good job describing the glovemaking process and personalizing the town's history.

I found this book because I was trying to find information on Lucius N. Littauer, a former resident of my home town, Gloversville, NY. I knew of his reputation as a philanthropist in his later years but I had no knowledge of his early life. I sent an email message to the Gloversville Free Library and the librarian recommended this volume. It proved an excellent source. I never thought of Gloversville as a "shtetl" but in many ways it was that for all of us who were fortunate to have lived there. As an Irish-American Catholic, the son of immigrants, I found the author's reminiscences as a young Jewish boy growing up in Gloversville most enjoyable. His description of winter brought to mind my own experiences with the coal fired furnace, the single register, and the roof to ground icicles. His descriptions of Gloversville landmarks, the Nathan Littauer Hospital (where I was born), the Hippodrome, the Littauer Pool, the glove factories, etc. are like a trip backward in time. I swam at the Littauer Pool, I went to Saturday matinees at the Hippodrome, and knew many other young people whose parents worked in the glove shops and tanneries. As Mr. Engel notes, Gloversville was a good place to grow up. I remember my mother often saying this. It is unfortunate that the industry which made Gloversville is now mostly a memory. For present and former residents this book is a treasure. One does not have to be Jewish to appreciate it. It also provides a searching look at working conditions and family life in a small factory town early this century.