America from its inception has been thought of as a place where one can re-make oneself and achieve success in the process. But these ideals of reinvention and upward mobility have existed inn tension with another, equally salient idea: that there is one way to be a “real” American. Thus, the notion of “passing” bears in itself the burden of inauthenticity. In Passing Fancies in Jewish American Literature and Culture, her new book, Judith Ruderman extends the customary discourse about crossing the color line to include lines crossing in and out of Jewishness. By exploring a variety of strategies for passing in a Jewish context, from nose jobs and name changes to alterations of dress and behavior, she raises basic questions of importance and interest to each of us: Who do we think we are? Do we have a right to claim an identity of our choosing? Judith Ruderman, longtime JRC member, lay cantor, and past president, retired as vice provost and adjunct professor of English at Duke University. She has published five books of literary criticism and is the recipient of the 2017 Harry T. Moore Award for lifelong contributions to D. H. Lawrence Studies.