Odessa : genius and death in a city of dreams

A colorful account of the transformation of one of Europe's foremost Jewish cities, told through the stories of its geniuses and villains.Italian merchants, Greek freedom fighters, and Turkish seamen; a Russian empress and her favorite soldier-bureaucrats; Jewish tavern keepers, traders, and journalists—these and many others seeking fortune and adventure rubbed shoulders in Odessa, the greatest port on the Black Sea.Here a dream of cosmopolitan freedom inspired geniuses and innovators, from Alexander Pushkin and Isaac Babel to Zionist activist Vladimir Jabotinsky and immunologist Ilya Mechnikov. Yet here too was death on a staggering scale: not only the insidious plagues common to seaports but also the mass murder of Jews carried out by the Romanian occupation during World War II. Drawing on a wealth of original source material, Odessa is an elegy for the vibrant, multicultural tapestry of which a thriving Jewish population formed an essential part, as well as a celebration of the survival of Odessa's dream in a diaspora reaching all the way to Brighton Beach. Describes The Vibrant Black Sea Port City Of Odessa And The Thriving Jewish Population That Included Alexander Pushkin, Isaac Babel, And Zionist Activist Vladimir Jabotinsky, And Examines The Mass Murders Of The Romanian Occupation During World War Ii. Pt. 1. City Of Dreams -- Ch. 1. The Sinister Shore -- Ch. 2. Potemkin And The Mercenaries -- Ch. 3. Beacon -- Ch. 4. The Governor And The Poet -- Ch. 5. There Is Nothing National About Odessa -- Pt. 2. The Habitations Of Cruelty -- Ch. 6. Schemes And Shadows -- Ch. 7. Blood And Vengeance -- Ch. 8. New World -- Ch. 9. The Fields Of Transnistria --ch. 10. I Would Like To Bring To Your Attention The Following -- Pt. 3. Nostalgia And Remembrance -- Ch. 11. Hero City -- Ch. 12. Twilight -- Chronology. Charles King. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 305-323) And Index. "Rich and riveting, complex and compelling, powerful and poetic."Peter M. Gianotti, Newsday In Odessa, the greatest port on the Black Sea, a dream of cosmopolitan freedom inspired geniuses and innovators, from the writers Alexander Pushkin and Isaac Babel to Zionist activist Vladimir Jabotinsky and immunologist Ilya Mechnikov. Yet here too was death on a staggering scale, as World War II brought the mass murder of Jews carried out by the citys Romanian occupiers. Odessa is an elegy for the vibrant, multicultural tapestry of which a thriving Jewish population formed an essential part, as well as a celebration of the survival of Odessas dream in a diaspora reaching all the way to Brighton Beach. Winner of a National Jewish Book Award "Fascinating....A humane and tragic survey of a great and tragic subject." —Jan Morris, Literary Review From Alexander Pushkin and Isaac Babel to Zionist renegade Vladimir Jabotinsky and filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, an astonishing cast of geniuses helped shape Odessa, a legendary haven of cosmopolitan freedom on the Black Sea. Drawing on a wealth of original sources and offering the first detailed account of the destruction of the city's Jewish community during the Second World War, Charles King's Odessa is both history and elegy—a vivid chronicle of a multicultural city and its remarkable resilience over the past two centuries. pt. 1. City of dreams The sinister shore Potemkin and the mercenaries Beacon The governor and the poet "There is nothing national about Odessa" pt. 2. The habitations of cruelty Schemes and shadows Blood and vengeance New world The fields of Transnistria "I would like to bring to your attention to the following" pt. 3. Nostalgia and remembrance Hero city Twilight Chronology.