Farewell España : the world of the Sephardim remembered

Farewell Espana transcends conventional historical narrative. With the lucidity and verve that have characterized his numerous earlier volumes, Howard Sachar breathes life into the leading dramatis personae of the Sephardic world: the royal counselors Samuel ibn Nagrela and Joseph Nasi, the poets Solomon ibn Gabirol and Judah Halevi, the philosophers Moses Maimonides and Baruch Spinoza, the statesmen Benjamin Disraeli and Pierre Mendes-France, the warriors Moshe Pijade and David Elazar, the fabulous charlatans David Reuveni and Shabbatai Zvi. In its breadth and richness of texture, Sachar's account sweeps to the contemporary era of Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco, poignantly traces the fate of Balkan Sephardic communities during the Holocaust -- and their revival in the Land and State of Israel. Not least of all, the author offers a tactile dimension of immediacy in his personal encounters with the storied venues and current personalities of the Sephardic world. Farewell Espana is a window opened on a glowing civilization once all but extinguished, and now flickering again into renewed creativity. This Encyclopedic History Of The Jews, First Published In 1958, Not Only Chronicles An Assailed And Enduring People, But Assesses Its Impact On The Modern World. The New Edition Casts Additional Light On The Milestones Of The Jewish Saga From The Eighteenth Century To The Close Of The Twentieth: The Jews' Emergence From The Ghetto And Into The Heart Of Western Society, The Debate Between The Voices Of Tradition, Assimilation, And Zionism, Virtual Destruction During The Holocaust, And Troubled Rebirth In Israel. Here, Too, Are Evocative Portraits Of Today's Diaspora, From The Jews Of America To The Embattled Communities Of The Former Soviet Union And The Third World.--adapted From Back Cover. Jew As Non-european -- Glimmering Of Dawn In The West -- Emancipation In The West -- Incarceration: The Jews Of Eastern Europe -- Triumph Of Liberalism -- Jewish Economic Life And The Frankfurt Tradition -- Impact Of Western Culture On Jewish Life -- Rise Of Jewish Life In The New World -- False Dawn In The East -- Jewish Humanism In Eastern Europe -- Emergence Of Anti-semitism -- Beginning Of The End For Russian Jewry -- Rise Of Zionism -- Growth Of Jewish Socialism -- Great Migration And Settlement In America -- Russian Jewry's Liberal Tradition In America -- Jews Of Eastern Europe Between The Wars -- Palestine Mandate -- Impact Of The Jews On Western Culture -- Onslaught Of Nazism -- Europe Judenrein -- Birth Of Israel -- Eastern Europe In The Postwar -- Precarious Revival In Democratic Europe -- Antipodal Jewish Third World -- Growth Of The American-jewish Community -- State Of Israel -- Growth Of The Israeli Nation -- Greater Israel. Howard M. Sachar. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 819-865) And Index. When this encyclopedic history of the Jews was first published in 1958, it was hailed as one of the great works of its kind, a study that not only chronicled an assailed and enduring people, but assessed its astonishing impact on the modern world. Now this scholarly and comprehensive book has been massively revised and updated by its author, a professor of modern history at the George Washington University and one of the most respected authorities on the lives and times of the Jewish people. The new edition casts additional light on the milestones of the Jewish saga from the eighteenth century to the close of the twentieth: the Jews' emergence from the ghetto and into the heart of Western society, the debate between the voices of tradition, assimilation, and Zionism; virtual destruction during the Holocaust; and troubled rebirth in Israel. Here, too, are evocative portraits of today's disapora, from the Jews of America to the embattled communities of the former Soviet Union and the Third World. In the eighteenth century a majestic silhouette of spires and battlements greeted the traveler who made his way down the valley of the lower Main River in southwestern Germany.