The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread

The Bagel traces the cultural and historical origins of this bread from seventeenth-century Poland to modern America. While bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese are familiar to millions worldwide, few know the bagel's actual history and background. Balinska's research in international archives and personal interviews connects the bagel to several key historical events: Polish king Jan Sobieski's defeat of the Turks in 1683, the Yiddish cultural revival of the late nineteenth century, and Jewish migration to America. The narrative follows the bagel's journey through New York's Lower East Side bakeries, the Bagel Bakers' Local 388 Union of the 1960s, and organized crime involvement. The book weaves together the history of East European Jewry through the story of this ring-shaped roll, examining centuries of Polish, Jewish, and American history.