Miss America, 1945: Bess Myerson's Own Story

by Susan Dworkin

Part biography, part cultural history, this book evokes America in the thirties and forties while revealing the story of a poor Jewish girl from the Bronx and her encounter with prize and prejudice after becoming Miss America

Genres: Biography

229 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1988

About the author

Susan Dworkin is an unlimited author. She writes books for everyone.

ARE YOU A TRUE HISTORY BUFF? Susan co-wrote the New York Times Best Seller, THE NAZI OFFICER'S WIFE, with Edith Hahn Beer, the woman who lived this amazing story of love, terror and courage in Hitler's Germany.

ARE YOU A SCIENCE FICTION FAN? Susan's thrill-filled novel, THE COMMONS, is set 150 years in the future, When an ancient plague threatens to destroy the wheat crop, a revolutionary coalition of farmers, scientists and courageous young rock stars must save the world from starvation.

ARE YOU A MOVIE ADDICT? Consider MAKING TOOTSIE, the up-close investigation which Susan wrote when she was the only journalist allowed on the set of the classic gender-bending comedy featuring Dustin Hoffman.

AT MS. MAGAZINE, Dworkin was a contributing editor for more than ten years, interviewing such celebrities as Meryl Streep, Danny Glover, Carol Burnett, and Whoopi Goldberg. She is also a leading AUDIOBOOK PRODUCER, publishing terrific voice versions of authors like Isaac Bashevis Singer, Edna Ferber, Cynthia Ozick and I.L. Peretz.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A SPEAKER? Susan is a delightful and much sought-after lecturer who has cracked up audiences from the Library of Congress to the Crop Science Society. You can hear samples of her speeches -- and find out everything else about her -- by going to her website: www.SusanDworkin.com.

Reviews

[Starlet Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not realize that the story would be this interesting -- I thought it would be about the life of Bess Myerson and the Pageant.and, yes, it was, but it also provided a backdrop of information that was not familiar to me. I did not know (or forgot) that Miss Myerson was the first and only Jewish Miss America. Because of the attitude and sentiments, in post-war America, towards Jews, women, and the fact that there was an anti-Semitic riddled Miss America pageant, there were many setbacks experienced for naive Beth Myerson’s 'promising future” Her reign took place in 1945; I was born in 1946, but Bess Myerson was a household name for years (thus, my reason for reading the book) and I never thought as to WHY that was. I think the book is a worthwhile listen for everyone -- it is enlightening reminder of what America was like, on many levels, during that time.

[Wendell Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I certainly remember Bess Myerson as a television personality in the '60's, although I had not been born when she was crowned Miss America. However, in the '70's, I became involved with the Miss America system as a Miss Georgia Singer and then later as a Board Member, then Regional Representative and Co-coordinator of the Miss Georgia Superstars. Besides the attraction of getting to perform onstage and later to direct (as a theatre BFA major,) I also was enough of a feminist in that decade to support the pagaent because of the scholarship opportunities it afforded the contestants, an unbalance which was so unfair to women at the time before the advent of athletic scholarships for women. The Miss America Organization seemed to level that playing field, and supporting those young women seemed to be the right thing to do. My wife and son joined me in supporting this organization for years, and I am still in touch with many of the dynamic young women we met through the MAO, and in fact we still judge local pageants when asked. I purchased this book on a sale table many years ago, and it rested on my bookshelf for a long time before I finally picked it up to dive into. I loved that the narrative was frequently interrupted with Bess' own words (in italics) and is sprinkled with photographs to give the reader an accurate picture of what is is going on in Bess' world. Loved every minute of reading this book and I think that even those without my background with the MAO will enjoy it. Most importantly Bess Myerson was the first young woman crowned after the troops came home from WWII, and the first young woman of Jewish descent to be crowned Miss America just months after the liberation of the survivors of the concentration camps. Quite a formidable responsibility for a 21-year-old woman to take on, and Bess' maturity shone through and made her a success!

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a fascinating and engrossing description of Bess Myerson's life from her childhood through her year as Miss America. The environment in which she was raised was completely unfamiliar to me. I had no idea such a place existed. Atlantic City during WWII and the year she competed is also a revelation. The evolution of the Miss America pageant is also described in detail. The main subject is her, of course, but the author does an excellent job of putting her activities in context. The book has many sections in Ms. Myerson's voice as well as the author's narrative. Her life after Miss America is almost more interesting than this but, it's not the subject of this book and is covered in just a few pages. This book is much more than I thought it would be. I highly recommend it.

[Kelli Koehler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought this would tell me more about Bess Myerson's experience in gaining the crown and what she did with her reign. Instead the book focused on jewish history and Bess Myerson's past. Would not recommend.