Reviews (2)

An excellent idea
The very fact of this encyclopedia's existence is an excellent idea. So far as I know there is no comparable encyclopedia in scope and quality of American- Jewish men. There of course should be. The short biographies that I read were well- written and informative.
An amazing project
This was an amazing bat mitzvah gift for my daughter (thanks Eve!) that was just in time to help her with her school report on Henrietta Szold.It is causing problems for me, however; this is the second night I'vestayed up late reading it, even though I need my sleep.On the other hand,I now know a lot more about Gilda Radner, Judy Blume, Letty CottinPogrebin, Golda Meir, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, Rosalyn Yalow, MollyPicon, Lilith (the magazine), Roseanne, how Jewish women are portayed ontelevision, Jewish women in popular fiction....This is an amzingproject, and a fantastic set of books.I highly recommend this set toanyone who is considering it enough to be reading this. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Dictionaries    4. History    5. Jewish - General    6. Jewish women    7. Jews    8. Jews In The U.S.    9. Reference    10. United States    11. United States - General    12. Women In The U.S.    13. Women's Studies - General    14. Women's Studies - History    15. American history: c 1500 to c 1800    16. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    17. American history: from c 1900 -    18. Jewish studies    19. Modern period, c 1500 onwards    20. Reference / General    21. Reference works    22. Social history    23. USA    24. Women's studies   

Editorial Review

In a work that is as authoritative as it is explosive, Goldhagenforces us to revisit and reconsider our understanding of the Holocaust and its perpetrators, demanding a fundamental revision in our thinking ofthe years between 1933-1945.Drawing principally on materials eitherunexplored or neglected by previous scholars, Goldhagen marshals new, disquieting primary evidence that explains why, when Hitler conceived of the"final solution" he was able to enlist vast numbers of willing Germans tocarry it out.A book sure to provoke new discussion and intense debate. ... Read more

Reviews (193)

Many of the reviewers of this book validate the author's point....
Hitler's rise to power and tyranny was enabled and in fact, empowered by, the needs and convictions of the German people. The rise of Hitler and the pervasive support of him in Germany at that time were a coemergent phenomena. One did not create the other. Goldhagen's book is important in that it attempts to speak to the German public's complicitous role in the horrors that occured during WW II to Jews (which Goldhagen's thesis focuses on) and non-Jews alike. Many of the reviewers here are examples of Hitler's "willing executioners" of the truth, of decency and of humanity.

The message that matters
Goldhagen's large book has basically a single message: the perpetrators of Holocaust are Germans, not some Nazis. Ordinary Germans from all walks of life.
Racist Propaganda
Not appreciably less racist than the 1941 diatribe "Germany Must Perish!" by Theodore N Kaufman which advocated sterilizing the entire German population.As an aside, I doubt whether that little masterpiece (pubished before holocaust started) was helpful to the Jews in German-occupied territory.
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Subjects:  1. Antisemitism    2. Causes    3. Europe - Germany    4. Germany    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Holocaust    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Jewish - General    10. Psychology    11. War criminals    12. History / Germany    13. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (5)

A UNIQUE BOOK ON THE ISSUES OF JUDAISM
Unfortunately, this book did not achieve attention and respect as it appropriately deserves.The author possesses an incredible knowledge on the issues of JudaismIn this modern Guide for Perplexed a curious reader could learn all the lattitude of numerous controversies comprising the core of Jewish thought.This as an extraordinary book.I wish the author would present the discoveries he made in a more passionate manner.He deserves such a stance.

Fascinating and Eye-Opening
'The Beginnings of Jewishness' seems like it ought to be essential reading for both Christians and Jews who wonder where they came from. In the book, Cohen avoids reading back into the Bible itself and considers a great deal of other historical and literary evidence to determine when being a Jew changed its meaning from 'being from Judea', the geographical location, to 'being a member of the Jewish religion'. He finds the first traces of this in the Hasmonean period, expansions of it in the Roman and up through history. Along the way he is also tracing the beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism after the fall of the Jerusalem Temple, which is quite different from what constituted Judaism before that event. All of this would probably be very surprizing to those who hold anachronistic visions of Jesus as a Rabbinic Jew!. Cohen also goes into quite a bit of detail on matrilineal descent and conversion, maybe more than some would want, but interesting nonetheless. Good book.

A model of historical scholarship
I am not a Jew. I bought this book thinking it would explain in good part how the religious culture of the Judeans in the Second Temple period became the enduring religion of a people spread far and wide and how, after the cleansing of Judea, it gave rise to the central documents of that religion, the Mishnah and the Talmud. (What Cohen calls moving from ethnos to ethnoreligion.)Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Judaism - History    3. Religion    4. Religion - Judaism    5. Jewish studies    6. Judaism    7. Literary studies: classical, early & medieval    8. Religion / General    9. World history: BCE to c 500 CE   

Reviews (7)

Nostalgia for the Alexandria tram and beaches
Andre Aciman's Out of Egypt is an amazing book, I found it very hard to put down. At a time of increased hostility in the middle east it is heartwarming to read of a time when Jews lived in peace with their Muslim and Christian neighbors in Alexandria. Not a whiff of anti Jewish sentiments was reported by Aciman until after the Suez War. Aciman and his family left Egypt in the sixties.
A portrait of ethnic cleansing in Egypt
As another reviewer noted, it takes a while for the reader to get his/her bearings about the ties of blood and marriage among the characters in Aciman's memoir. The beautifully written book then becomes an elegy for a lost way of life as the cosmopolitan city that Alexander the Great had founded and that remained significantly Greek through the time of Cavafy, butunderwent "ethnic cleansing" by Nasser's United Arab Republic.
A charming family chronicle
Aciman's memoir of his multiethnic, multiglossic family in Alexandria starts out a bit confusingly: he purposefully (and perversely) hides just how certain characters are related to one another, and to himself, in the opening sections, which makes things a bit confusing. But once he enters as a character himself in the book, things straighten out and the reader can immerse himself or herself in the sights and sounds of mid-century Alexandria. The characters (mostly his family members and servants) are charmingly original, and really come to live. Oddly, though it takes his introduction into the narrative for the memoir to straighten itself out, Aciman's own character is kept occulted in this memoir, and most of what we see him do is misbehave. Aciman clearly and wisely learned from Proust (his admitted model) never to sentimentalize himself--a mistake other memoirists often commit. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aciman family    2. Aciman, Andre    3. Aciman, Andrâe    4. Alexandria    5. Alexandria (Egypt)    6. Biography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. Egypt    10. Ethnic Cultures - General    11. Genealogy    12. Historical - General    13. Jewish Studies    14. Jews    15. Middle East - Egypt    16. Aciman, André    17. Biography: general    18. History / General   

Reviews (7)

Still groundbreaking, although some reconstructions pf the premonarchic cultus are questionable
As it was written in the 70s, Canaanite Myth is a little behind the times- it assumes, for example, that monolatry was present in Israel from the premonarchic period, and that later prophetic polemics and reforms were directed against "syncretism."We now know that this is probably not the case, and that most of the gods condemned as "foreign" by the prophets and Deuteronomists- Asherah, Astarte, Baal, and the Heavenly Host- were simply pan-Levantine gods that Israel had inherited from its Canaanite ancestors. It is Cross's work that has, in large part, prepared us to deal with this however.Cross's book meticulously examines a wide variety of biblical and extrabiblical texts, early and late, and observes many continuities between Israelite and Canaanite beliefs and modes of worship; poetics, theophanic language, and so on are largely identical between the two cultures, the only real difference being that Israel's public religion was overwhelmingly focused on a single deity (but not, as Cross assumes, completely excluding others, at least until the late monarchy).Cross's reconstruction of the Judean monarchic cultus is based on a lot of evidence both biblical and comparative; the chapters on the development of apocalyptic language are where the analysis really shines. When he extends this reconstruction into the premonarchic period, however, it becomes problematic.His assumption that the Israelite league was a solid and largely unified politco-religious unit, rather than a loose, shifting coalition of tribes as even the Bible itself suggests (the list of tribes in the Song of Deborah includes ten tribes, not twelve, two of which are demoted to the status of sub-tribal "clans" in later lists) largely distorts his analysis.Nonetheless, the book is still a must-read for those interested in understanding the biblical world.

On following the proofs:
Cross is a scholar of outstanding merit.That said, the true worth of this book lies not in its bottom line conclusions-that the God of Israel represents an often overt, sometimes absurd, form of continuity with its antecedent Canaanite theogonic fellows--but in the rigor of its proofs and the tools manipulated in arriving there.However, without specific training in the field, one will be at a loss to evaluate exactly this most valuable dimension.In point of fact, I was often unable to so much as check the content of his citations; Cross, in accordance with ancient phonetizations that I could only glean from assorted footnotes, felt (potentially legitimately) no compunctions to adhere to the Masoritic text that I possessed.With this as the state of affairs, I could not critically examine the salience of any particular argument nor sense when Cross was engaged in something truly novel, to be taken note of. Conservative, Radical, Challenging, Debatable
"Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic" is a series of related essays on the composition of the Hebrew Bible.It is conservative in that it takes the general framework of the Biblical chronology as accurate, and Cross refers readily to "patriarchal folk", "the league" of tribes, "the empire of David and Solomon" and the "divided monarchy".Within this conservatism, Cross adheres to the relative conservatism of the Documentary Hypothesis, which is taken for granted by most scholars, but anathema to those who hold to the unity of the scriptures.Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History Of Judaism    3. Judaism - General    4. Middle East - Israel    5. Religion    6. Religion - Judaism    7. Asian / Middle Eastern history: BCE to c 500 CE    8. Jewish studies    9. Judaism    10. Old Testament    11. Palestine    12. Pre-Christian European & Mediterranean religions    13. Religion / General   

Reviews (24)

Chasidus today
This book shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Such phenomenon as these "rebels" reflects the state of many chasidic groups today. Do they really have anything in common with the original intention of the Baal Shem Tov? Most of these "rebels" living in chasidic communities never knew what real chasidus is. Surprising? Not at all! Learn history of Chasidus and you'll understand. But such rebels can't be called smart people either. Instead of throwing away Yiddishkayt altogether betraying their Jewish brethren, they could rather seek the real chasidus, which does exist, and one who wants to find it can do it. But "rebels" think it is easier to throw everything in the garbage (together with their lives) because of frustration, rather than to seek. But this is not what the Bashefer wants from them. And they can't justify themselves saying that they couldn't hold it anymore. They could search deeper if they only wanted to, they could leave not the Yiddishkayt, but those who made an external game out of it. And they could find real Yiddishkayt if they only wanted to, instead of committing a spiritual suicide. Such books can't offer any help to these troubles souls because they have no idea how to do it. They only can present "juicy" stories and retell such problems more and more instead of offering real spiritual help to these people.

biased and poorly written
poorly written, and clearly biased. I was extremely disappointed in the book.

The Untruth
Reading this book made me sad and angry.It paints a picture of a people that isin large part, untrue.Yes , there are misfits in any community, but the Hassidim as a whole are G-d fearing people with very intact and emotionally healthy families. If Hella Winston is searching for acclaim as a writer - it would havebenefited her to have interviewed the families of her subjects to find out their perspectives.I have personally met at least two characters in her book and they are highly unstable and chemically imbalanced.How unfortunate to characterize an entire people by its misfits. Some her research is just plain false.For example, although our children are initially sheltered from as much immorality as possible, Ultra Orthodoxwomen can engage in as much intellectual stimulation as they please. Case in point:the writer of this review. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. General    5. Hasidim    6. Jewish Studies    7. Jews    8. New York    9. New York (State)    10. Social Science    11. Social conditions    12. Sociology    13. Social Science / General   

Reviews (5)

feeling
Among the first books I purchased to study the Holocost. A concise summary
These three camps were put into full operation shortly after the assassination of Heydrich, the "brains" behind the Final Solution. Unlike concentration camps, these were extermination centers. Most were killed shortly after arrival. The man in charge seemed to be Christian Wirth, who can only be described as a beast in human form. Initially devoted to mass executions of Soviet POWs, the camps soon focused on liquidation of Jews once the Final Solution was put into full swing. Very little is known about the camps simply because there were so few survivors. These were truly some of the most dreadful camps, even though they operated for only a brief period.

EXHAUSTIVA Y RIGUROSA OBRA
Comparando muchos libros sobre la trist�sima c�lebre "Operaci�n Reinhard", Yitzhak Arad ha conseguido con su obra aglutinar de una manera exhaustiva y rigurosa, toda la informaci�n posible sobre esos cruentos a�os. El libro es ciertamente desgarrador y a medida que pasan las p�ginas, necesitas reflexionar sobre el devenir de la Humanidad. Pasaje a pasaje, logra nuestro estudioso autor, crear una tr�stemente cierta atm�sfera t�trica sobre el comportamiento de los genocidas, su actitud hacia los prisioneros, evacuaci�n de los Ghettos, construcci�n de las c�maras de gas, sublevaci�n de los campos, etc... S�lamente hay un peque�o inciso que hubiera podido ser mejorado: una m�s profusa y densa biograf�a sobre los autores materiales del Holocausto. Salvaguardando este matiz, se puede considerar esta obra como la m�s completa y documentada de todo el g�nero. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. History: World    4. Holocaust    5. Jewish Holocaust    6. Military - World War II    7. European history: Second World War    8. Germany    9. Jewish studies    10. Second World War, 1939-1945    11. The Holocaust    12. Jews    13. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)   

Reviews (18)

The Lobby is out in force
I had to crack up when I saw the one star reviews on this book.That's the grassroots portion of the Israel Lobby voicing its objection to truth again, (they do that A LOT).It's also an excellent indication the book, film or information you're seeking is exactly what you need to read. I first ran into this book on Jews Against Zionism, the Torah True Jews of New York who are 100% anti-apartheid, (Israel is the world's only aparthied nation today.They call it 'Zionism').One of the tools used to keep apartheid alive and well in Israel is, as Norm Finkelstein put it, the Holocaust Industry.Yes, the German holocaust happened...as did another seven during the twentieth century.The Zionist movement set on the complete conquest of Palestine for a Jewish supremacist state did work with the Nazis.These documents prove it as do such facts as Walburg's handling of security for the Nazi state until 1939, (his brother was one of the founding members of our Federal Reserve).Walburg, though Jewish was allowed to leave Nazi Germany with his fortune in tact in 1939 so certain influential Jews were shielded from Nazi oppression.You should be asking why.These documents will help you understand the double standard.Of course be careful where you discuss this.In some countries, deviating from the accepted historical revisionism with the truth on this issue, the German holocaust, lands you in jail.That is if you talk about the 50% of the victims who were Jewish.See, the Catholics, Mentally Ill, homosexuals, Gypsies, Communists and handicap making up the other 50% of victims, they don't matter anymore. They were not the right faith, nor were they included in reparations and rarely are they mentioned...even in the state funded holocaust museums. (Hint that also should give you a clue there is something very unkosher about this whole thing...that 50% of the victims no longer are mentioned or matter)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
No surprise some are vigoriously fighting this book's findings since theydon't want the general,rather ignorant, public to learn. The historical ignorance is especially visible in the USA, where truth is supressed on daily basis.

So what!?
I see nothing in these allegedly shocking documents that shocks me.Why wouldn't anyone who wanted to save the lives of Jews not cooperate with the devil himself - or even Hitler (who was worse because he actually existed!) - to save them?And why wouldn't Hitler want all the Jews he could get out of the country to go and resettle in a small strip of land in the Mideast, all the better to eventually wipe them out?Indeed, Hitler was *definitely* collaborating with the Palestnian Arabs with whom he shared the goal of doing just that.Lip-service to tryants who can wipe you out is a not a surprising thing, especially when there is a war going on with the outcome uncertain.One says and does what is necessary to survive, which may be "unprincipled" but is also understable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. General    3. Germany    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jewish - General    9. Jews    10. Palestine    11. Politics and government    12. Zionism    13. Europe    14. European history: Second World War    15. History / General    16. Jewish studies   

Editorial Review

Thomas Cahill, author of the bestselling Read more

Reviews (127)

I found it fascinating
Going back that far into history requires some imagination.Thomas Cahill had some very interesting views on what could have happened back then.He rightly points out that Abraham lived a couple of thousand years before the bible as we know it, was actually written down.He made some points in it that forces me to go back into the old testament and reread some printed oral traditions that were put on paper at the time of Moses.Historically, there are still many questions as to what happened 3000 years ago.Heck, we are still speculating about King Arthur and the round table!I thought it was an interesting read, provoked some thought, and he had some points that do make sense.After all, historians keep telling us that history repeats themselves.Maybe he's just trying to prove that point with today's international sagas.

ZERO IS RIGHT!
This menure is almost as bad revisionism as the irish fairy tale book! He as usual does not sight his sources, and appears to make it up as he goes. Miss MacDonald's review said it very well. If you believe in anything Cahill spews, you may as well believe the "Sun rises in the west." I won't waste another nano-second on anything this hack writes.

The Celts in Ireland

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Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. History    3. History - General History    4. Jewish - Ancient    5. Jewish influences    6. Jews    7. Judaism    8. Judaism - History    9. Religion    10. To 70 A.D    11. History / General    12. History of specific racial & ethnic groups    13. Jewish studies   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Italy    2. General    3. Guidebooks    4. History    5. Italy    6. Jewish - General    7. Jews    8. Travel    9. Travel - Foreign    10. Venice    11. Venice (Italy)   

Reviews (36)

Can the past be prologue?
Having been involved in intelligence work early in my life and having kept watching intel shenanigans, a book about the secret war against the Jews got my attention and I had an opportunity to read and research much of its contents. I found answers to questions I had not foundsince the creation of Israel. Why would such a widely divergent group of political leaders suddenly see eye to eye and approve something as controversial and futile as creating a Jewish State surrounded by masses of Arabs seeking their destruction? It is amazing how the founders of Israel were able to use the weaknesses of these world leaders to effectively blackmail them. In view of the current situation in Lebanon, Syria and Iran it was very educational to learn about the USS Liberty betrayal and subsequent conspiracy to hide the facts.
The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed The Jewish People
The book was in great conidtion; I have no complaints.

Fine account of the pro-Nazi crimes of the British and US ruling classes
This excellent book exposes the anti-democratic nature of the British and US ruling classes. It shows how for most of the last century they committed huge crimes in the name of anti-communism, doing far more evil deeds than their class enemies.
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Subjects:  1. American espionage    2. Espionage, American    3. Foreign relations    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. International Relations - General    7. Israel    8. Jewish - General    9. Political Science    10. United States    11. World - General    12. Jewish studies    13. Racism & racial discrimination    14. The Holocaust   

Reviews (6)

a good help for beginners
The "quick and dirty" of the stranger markings of BHS. For those not well-versed in Latin, German, or Aramaic, this little reference is quite handy. Scott does not bother with the history or evolution of the Tiberian Masorah or other markings, but rather simply gives what is necessary to successfully derive meaning from both the Masorah Magna and Masora Parva (but not the Masorah Finalis) as well as some of the accentation and other markings. The most useful feature of this reference work is its size - it's very small and slim, so much so that it may have a propensity to get lost frequently.

A useful tool
If one is interested in decoding the minutia around the BHS text, then this book is an invaluable resource to have available. Too Much $$ for Getting So Little
This text has good and bad points.It's translation of terms in the back, the background information on text pointing, and the briefer listing and explanation of the MS accent system is probably less overwhelming than other such references.But in the end, one would purchase this overpriced book with the purpose of learning the uses of the accents in Hebrew pointed text.The book comes up way short.Read more

Subjects:  1. Bible    2. Bible - Study - Old Testament    3. Bible.    4. Bibles - Hebrew    5. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia    6. Criticism, Textual    7. Hebrew    8. O.T    9. O.T.    10. Old Testament Commentary    11. Religion    12. Religion - Biblical Studies    13. Religion / Bible / Study / Old Testament    14. Versions    15. Concordances & commentaries    16. Jewish Religious Texts    17. Jewish studies    18. Judaism    19. Language & Linguistics    20. Masorah    21. Old Testament    22. Religion - General   

Reviews (1)

Scrapbook of memories.....
JEWISH AMERICANS is a big fat wonderful book filled with hundreds of photographs of native and foreign-born Jewish Americans. The book is coffee-table sized so if you want to start a conversation this is the book that will do it. You'll need an ovesized book shelf to store it. Read more

Subjects:  1. Emigration & Immigration    2. Ethnic Studies - General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. Jewish - General    6. Jews    7. Judaism - History    8. Migrations    9. Social Science    10. Social life and customs    11. Sociology    12. United States    13. United States - 20th Century    14. United States - General    15. History of specific racial & ethnic groups    16. Jewish studies    17. USA   

Subjects:  1. History    2. Jewish - General    3. Sociology    4. Jewish studies    5. Judaism   

Reviews (18)

This Idiot's review of an Idiot's Book
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish History and Culture is a must read for anyone who is even remotely interested in the Jewish culture or knows a Jewish person. This books takes you into the history and culture of Jewish people. It explores what it really means to be Jewish, why we are who we are, and how you can better understand us.
Only OK
I did not find this book to be as comprehensive as I would have liked. For instance, the only holidays he really explains are Purim, Hanukkah, and Yom Ha-Shoah. He mentions Yom Kippur only in passing; considering it is the most important Jewish holiday, I think merited much more explanation. There was no mention of Rosh Hashanah. I did find the coincidences of tragedy falling on Tisha B'Av interesting -- I definitely did not know that so many devastating events, from the destruction of both Temples to the expulsion of Jews from Spain all occurred on the same day. Rabbi Blech's notion that it is a message from God certainly seems plausible.
Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish History and Culture
I found this book a very simplistic, condescending work. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. History    3. History - General History    4. Jewish - General    5. Jews    6. Judaism    7. Judaism - History    8. Religion    9. Jewish studies    10. Religion / Judaism / History   

Editorial Review

The wisdom of Yiddish sayings addresses life's essential questions with a healthy dose of sarcasm. Kristina Swarner culled over 100 sayings of old-world wit, included English translations for all, and added her own Chagall-like illustrations.There's the snide "The masses are asses" (Read more

Reviews (1)

You'll love the wit and wisdom of the book!
This book makes a greatgift for anyone.It is full of wonderful sayings that apply to many different situations.I bought 6! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Folklore & Mythology - Folklore    2. General    3. Humor    4. Judaism - General    5. Proverbs, Yiddish    6. Quotations    7. Sociology    8. Translations into English    9. Yiddish Literature    10. Folklore    11. Jewish studies    12. Social Science / General    13. Yiddish    14. Reference   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (2)

well written but outdated
Rabbi Sacks wrote this to persaude Jews to be better Jews - but I'm not sure he would persuade anyone who isn't already converted, especially in view of recent events. An excellent Jewish philosophy book
Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of England, writes fluidly and lyrically.While this is a general, basic Jewish philosophy text, it is appropriate not only for beginners but also for those with a more advanced knowledge of Judaism.Rabbi Sacks explores a variety of ideas within Judaism including: the egalitarian nature of each Jewish person's relationship with G-d, the Hebrew Bible as the first way to understand the world and how it works without resort to myth, the covenantal relationship between the Jewish people and G-d and the covenantal relationships within Jewish families,Judaism as a rejection of both tribalism and universalism, the synagogue as a revolutionary institution, etc.Read more

Subjects:  1. Christianity - Theology - General    2. General    3. Jewish Studies    4. Judaism - General    5. Philosophy    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Philosophy / General    9. Religion / Judaism / General    10. Religion-Christianity - Theology - General    11. Religion-Judaism - General   

Subjects:  1. Discrimination & Racism    2. History and criticism    3. Humor    4. Jewish American Literature    5. Jewish wit and humor    6. Jews    7. Psychological aspects    8. Satire And Humor    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. Ethnography    12. Jewish studies    13. Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations    14. USA   

Reviews (3)

Good stuff
This collection of primary sources concerning the history of Medieval Iberia is quite good for undergraduate study of Muslim Spain, with useful introductions to each source.The predominance of Christian sources may be explained by the fact that many Muslim sources are no longer extant(or did not exist in the first place), particularly concerning the Mozarabic population(Christians under Arab-Berber dominion).

The best anthology of primary sources available
This is the most thorough and up-to-date collection of primary sources relating to the history of medieval Spain yet available.It brings together a vast ocean of important and illustrative Jewish, Christian andMuslim sources, many of which have never before been translated. Readers,especially historians, will find much of value in this carefully-selectedand thoughtfully arranged anthology.Few other collections give such asense of the richness and diversity of medieval Iberian society.

Peculiar, but an adequate introduction to Christian sources
This book actually focuses largely (almost entirely) on Christian sources for medieval Spain (hardly "Iberia," since with one exception Portugal, for instance, is not mentioned).Muslim sources are few and the obvious ones, and the rare and altogether inadequate Jewish sources are thrown in as an afterthought.Still, a useful undergraduate textbook, perhaps. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 711-1516    2. Civilization    3. Civilization, Medieval    4. Europe - Spain & Portugal    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Portugal    8. Sources    9. Spain    10. To 1500    11. Christianity    12. European history: c 500 to c 1500    13. Islamic studies    14. Jewish studies