The Pity of It All : A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch, 1743-1933
Author(s): Amos Elon
In this important work of historical restoration, Amos Elon shows how a persecuted clan of cattle dealers and wandering peddlers was transformed into a stunningly successful community of writers, philosophers, scientists, tycoons, and activists. In engaging, brilliantly etched portraits of Moses Mendelssohn, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Hannah Arendt, and many others, Elon traces how a small minority came to be perceived as a deadly threat
to German national integrity.
Review(s):
“Brilliant, far-reaching, passionate. . .sweeping and marvelously detailed. . .finely, intimately, movingly drawn. . . a book for the ages.” —The New York Times
“[Elon] is a master of the telling anecdote. . ..One should be grateful for what Elon has done.” —Los Angeles Times
“A work packed with beautifully sketched portraits, and constructed with a practiced eye for memorable, well-executed anecdotes.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Impressive. . .Could hardly be improved upon.” —The New York Review of Books
“If there is one book Americans should read this winter, it is Amos Elon's The Pity of It All--a meticulous and wrenching history of a people in a place at a moment in time that bears urgently upon our own.” —Joan Didion, author of Political Fictions
Short-listed National Jewish Book Award - Finalist (2002), Short-listed National Jewish Book Award - Finalist (2003)
ISBN: 9780312422813