Oscar Handlin, Harvard University historian and librarian, ranks as one of the most prolific and influential American historians of the twentieth century. Ethnic history, social history, and urban history are among the fields in which he has made pioneering contributions. Equally adept at writing history aimed at scholars and at the public, Handlin is one of a handful of professional historians whose works are popular with general readers. Oscar Handlin is also known for training many of America's leading historians, including Bernard Bailyn, Anne Firor Scott, Moses Rischin, Martin Duberman, Arthur Mann, David Rothman, Neil Harris, Nathan Huggins, Stephan Thernstrom, and Sam Bass Warner.

Born in New York City, Handlin was the oldest of three children of Jewish immigrants. His mother, the former Ida Yanowitz, had come to the United States from Russia in 1904 and worked in the garment industry. His father, Joseph Handlin, had attended a commercial...