Life is With People: The Culture of the Shtetl

by Mark Zborowski, Elizabeth Herzog

Over many hundreds of years the Shtetl, the small-town Jewish community of Eastern Europe, developed a way of life uniquely its own, bearing witness to the rich creative powers of the Jewish people and its faith. Today the Shtetl no longer exists. 'Life is With People' is a study of this rich but vanished past.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Jewish, Judaism, Judaica, Poland, Anthropology

452 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1952, it provides a rich overview on life in the Polish shtetls (villages) in the years before most of the Jews who lived there were murdered in the holocaust. Various aspects of shtetl life are presented, some quite charming, others not so much. For my purposes, there are many opportunities to develop scenes for my characters.

[Jean Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book written in the early '50s. It is an anthropologic study of the Shtetl by authors who thought they were describing a life style that had permanently been destroyed by WW II.
It was interesting to see how much of the culture described is still alive and well among the Jewish people.

[Moshe Hollander]

It's a bit weird reading about how my grandparents lived written in the style of an ethnography work. Clearly written by people with very little personal connection to that world (as evidenced by some amusing transliteration and small but noticeable ritual procedure errors). Even so, it lines up pretty well with how my grandparents described life in Eastern Europe.

[Nancybeisser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this view into life as experienced by my grandparents and greatparents! It's beautifully written.

[Joseph Harriott · Rating 4 out of 5]

rich variety of the shtetl life in Belorusia

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life Is With People: The Jewish Little-Town of Eastern Europe (Hardcover)
by Mark Zborowski

different cover c1952

introduction by Margaret Mead

[Dan Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good anthropological account of Eastern European Yiddish-speaking culture.

[Terry Waslow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent look at the culture of Jews in small towns of eastern Europe before world war II. Easy to read and brimming with information. Many cultural attributes recognizable today, however altered.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content was interesting to learn, but it also really dragged.

[Rebecca Olshanitsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

experiencing this book and its depictions of Shtetl life was definitely elevated with the knowledge that so many of my family members and ancestors grew up like this

[Jacob Lenoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

BORING except for very last chapter

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice overview of shtetl life--not much here you couldn't learn by watching Fiddler on the Roof, but a few revelations about Jewish religious life--the chapter on the crowds around the Rebbes was interesting.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was an amazingly informative and entertaining book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.