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Genius & Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947
A unique chronicle of the years 1847-1947, the century when the Jewish people changed the world—and it changed them.
In a hundred-year period, a handful of men and women changed the way we see the world. Many of them are well known—Marx, Freud, Proust, Einstein, Kafka. Others have vanished from collective memory despite their enduring importance in our daily lives. Without Karl Landsteiner, for instance, there would be no blood transfusions or major surgery. Without Paul Ehrlich, no chemotherapy. Without Siegfried Marcus, no motor car. Without Rosalind Franklin, genetic science would look very different. Without Fritz Haber, there would not be enough food to sustain life on earth.
What do these visionaries have in common? They all had Jewish origins. They all had a gift for thinking in wholly original, even earth-shattering ways. In 1847 the Jewish people made up less than 0.25% of the world’s population, and yet they saw what others could not. How? Why?
Norman Lebrecht has devoted half of his life to pondering and researching the mindset of the Jewish intellectuals, writers, scientists, and thinkers who turned the tides of history and shaped the world today as we know it. In Genius & Anxiety, Lebrecht begins with the Communist Manifesto in 1847 and ends in 1947, when Israel was founded. This robust, magnificent volume, beautifully designed, is an urgent and necessary celebration of Jewish genius and contribution.
In a hundred-year period, a handful of men and women changed the way we see the world. Many of them are well known—Marx, Freud, Proust, Einstein, Kafka. Others have vanished from collective memory despite their enduring importance in our daily lives. Without Karl Landsteiner, for instance, there would be no blood transfusions or major surgery. Without Paul Ehrlich, no chemotherapy. Without Siegfried Marcus, no motor car. Without Rosalind Franklin, genetic science would look very different. Without Fritz Haber, there would not be enough food to sustain life on earth.
What do these visionaries have in common? They all had Jewish origins. They all had a gift for thinking in wholly original, even earth-shattering ways. In 1847 the Jewish people made up less than 0.25% of the world’s population, and yet they saw what others could not. How? Why?
Norman Lebrecht has devoted half of his life to pondering and researching the mindset of the Jewish intellectuals, writers, scientists, and thinkers who turned the tides of history and shaped the world today as we know it. In Genius & Anxiety, Lebrecht begins with the Communist Manifesto in 1847 and ends in 1947, when Israel was founded. This robust, magnificent volume, beautifully designed, is an urgent and necessary celebration of Jewish genius and contribution.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published December 3, 2019
399 people are currently reading
2434 people want to read
About the author
Norman Lebrecht
43 books47 followersNorman Lebrecht (born 11 July 1948 in London) is a British commentator on music and cultural affairs and a novelist. He was a columnist for The Daily Telegraph from 1994 until 2002 and assistant editor of the Evening Standard from 2002 until 2009. On BBC Radio 3, he has presented lebrecht.live from 2000 and The Lebrecht Interview from 2006.
He has written twelve books about music, which have been translated into 17 languages. Coming up in 2010 is Why Mahler?, a new interpretation of the most influential composer of modern times. See Books for more details. Also coming back in print is Mahler Remembered (Faber, 1987).
Norman Lebrecht's first novel The Song of Names won a Whitbread Award in 2003. His second, The Game of Opposites, was published in the US by Pantheon Books. A third is in preparation.
A collection of Lebrecht columns will be published this year in China, the first such anthology by any western cultural writer. A Lebrecht conversation appears monthly in The Strad, magazine of the strings professions.
The Lebrecht Interview will return in July 2010 on BBC Radio 3 and there will be further editions of The Record Doctor in New York on WNYC.
A year-long series of events, titled Why Mahler?, will open on London's South Bank in September 2010, curated by Norman Lebrecht.
Other works in progress include a stage play and various radio and television documentaries.
He has written twelve books about music, which have been translated into 17 languages. Coming up in 2010 is Why Mahler?, a new interpretation of the most influential composer of modern times. See Books for more details. Also coming back in print is Mahler Remembered (Faber, 1987).
Norman Lebrecht's first novel The Song of Names won a Whitbread Award in 2003. His second, The Game of Opposites, was published in the US by Pantheon Books. A third is in preparation.
A collection of Lebrecht columns will be published this year in China, the first such anthology by any western cultural writer. A Lebrecht conversation appears monthly in The Strad, magazine of the strings professions.
The Lebrecht Interview will return in July 2010 on BBC Radio 3 and there will be further editions of The Record Doctor in New York on WNYC.
A year-long series of events, titled Why Mahler?, will open on London's South Bank in September 2010, curated by Norman Lebrecht.
Other works in progress include a stage play and various radio and television documentaries.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
February 24, 2020
Years ago, I enjoyed Lebrecht's book, Who Killed Classical Music?: Maestros, Managers, and Corporate Politics. Most of his other books are also about music, but this book is about a very different subject; it is about the lives of Jews who were very influential across the century 1847-1947. What is most surprising to me, are the names. Of course, I realized that Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Leonard Bernstein, and Aaron Copland were Jewish. However, I had not recognized a host of others who significantly influenced our civilization, were also Jewish.
For example, Rosalind Franklin was a key player in the discovery of the role of DNA in biology. (I think she was cheated out of becoming a co-winner of the Nobel Prize.) Paul Ehrlich won the Nobel Prize for his work in immunity, and made important discoveries in cancer research and the invention of chemotherapy. Siegfried Marcus invented one of the first gasoline-powered automobiles. Gustav Mahler, Arnold Shoenberg, and Stephen Sondheim were extremely influential composers. The list goes on an on, perhaps a hundred miniature biographies, with their lives often intertwined in interesting ways.
On the large scale, the book unfolds chronologically. But on the small scale, the book often bounces around. Many times a personage is introduced first at a dramatic stage in his (or her) life, and then backtracks to his early life story. Time is also played with, because the entire book is written in the present tense! The book is an interesting read, and certainly engaging. Fascinating anecdotes are slipped in, and the pace never slows down.
For example, Rosalind Franklin was a key player in the discovery of the role of DNA in biology. (I think she was cheated out of becoming a co-winner of the Nobel Prize.) Paul Ehrlich won the Nobel Prize for his work in immunity, and made important discoveries in cancer research and the invention of chemotherapy. Siegfried Marcus invented one of the first gasoline-powered automobiles. Gustav Mahler, Arnold Shoenberg, and Stephen Sondheim were extremely influential composers. The list goes on an on, perhaps a hundred miniature biographies, with their lives often intertwined in interesting ways.
On the large scale, the book unfolds chronologically. But on the small scale, the book often bounces around. Many times a personage is introduced first at a dramatic stage in his (or her) life, and then backtracks to his early life story. Time is also played with, because the entire book is written in the present tense! The book is an interesting read, and certainly engaging. Fascinating anecdotes are slipped in, and the pace never slows down.
January 23, 2020
This is a hard book to review. It was hard to read. It is raw. It is disturbing. It is not a book you would choose for ‘pleasant reading’.
Page 301: “A conference of thirty-two countries called by President Roosevelt at Évian in Switzerland [1938] resolves that no one wants Jews, signaling that Hitler can do as he pleases.”
Apart from the 6M Jews who died in the Holocaust it is estimated that “ten thousand German Jews die by their own hand during, or as a result of, the Third Reich.” (Page 335)
At 438 pages you do not need to read cover to cover since it is constructed in 16 Chapters written in the manner of a stand-alone narrative.
This book is informative and deserves to be read – you will likely learn something you didn’t know before about an inspirational person you have never heard of before. For that alone it’s worth the read.
Page 301: “A conference of thirty-two countries called by President Roosevelt at Évian in Switzerland [1938] resolves that no one wants Jews, signaling that Hitler can do as he pleases.”
Apart from the 6M Jews who died in the Holocaust it is estimated that “ten thousand German Jews die by their own hand during, or as a result of, the Third Reich.” (Page 335)
At 438 pages you do not need to read cover to cover since it is constructed in 16 Chapters written in the manner of a stand-alone narrative.
This book is informative and deserves to be read – you will likely learn something you didn’t know before about an inspirational person you have never heard of before. For that alone it’s worth the read.
April 14, 2021
What a strange book, not at all what I expected!
The author is very enthusiastic, and a man on a mission -- an impression gleaned from his introduction. He clearly feels a calling to write up his subjects.
He is not lacking in chutzpah. The book is a who's who of, seemingly, every noteworthy Jew from the century stretching from 1847 to 1947.
Lebrecht doesn't stop with the big names. It is too much for writer and reader both. It wants to be a bravado performance, but many characters strut, instead of their hour upon the stage, their minute.
Why? What's he getting at?
He wants to establish a basic commonality among his subjects, to say they're all driven by their risk-taking and nothing-to-lose attitudes as well as by their genius. Yet for only a few of his subjects does he ever mention anxiety or genius, and even then as an afterthought.
His organizational methods don't help. Although going by time periods, he also throws in idiosyncratic groupings, such as conjoining Solomon Schechter and Theodor Herzl, both from the 1890s, as "Two Beards on a Train."
He's distracted from the derring-do of his subjects by their warts. In fact any whiff of scandal can take precedence, and I see from Wikipedia that among other things Lebrecht is a gossip columnist.
He's amateurish. Despite his brief treatment of many of his subjects he comes to far-reaching conclusions, about which he's lacking in all humility.
And in areas about which I know a little something, he makes errors, leading me to suspect that he does so in other areas as well.
Hence the recommendation to take this book with grains of salt.
Yet as I said the book does exude the sense of a calling as well as his boundless enthusiasm, and for that, I cut him some slack.
As to what he's up to, I found a clue in his discussion of Solomon Schechter and the Cairo geniza. For Norman Lebrecht, the main significance of the Cairo geniza is that it
I don't live in Great Britain, and so can't claim to have experienced the impingement of that culture. Yet it's possible that Lebrecht has tried to do what, from his angle, the contents of the Cairo geniza have done: established that not only were Jews not defunct but were here all along; not only that, we were movers and shakers.
Taken from that angle, the book is an act of defiance, an in-your-face refusal to be quiet any longer.
As Philip Roth, writing as "Philip Roth" in Operation Shylock said:
Yes.
From that point of view, I kind of like it.
2 1/2 stars rounded up to 3
Just don't forget those grains of salt.
The author is very enthusiastic, and a man on a mission -- an impression gleaned from his introduction. He clearly feels a calling to write up his subjects.
He is not lacking in chutzpah. The book is a who's who of, seemingly, every noteworthy Jew from the century stretching from 1847 to 1947.
Lebrecht doesn't stop with the big names. It is too much for writer and reader both. It wants to be a bravado performance, but many characters strut, instead of their hour upon the stage, their minute.
Why? What's he getting at?
He wants to establish a basic commonality among his subjects, to say they're all driven by their risk-taking and nothing-to-lose attitudes as well as by their genius. Yet for only a few of his subjects does he ever mention anxiety or genius, and even then as an afterthought.
His organizational methods don't help. Although going by time periods, he also throws in idiosyncratic groupings, such as conjoining Solomon Schechter and Theodor Herzl, both from the 1890s, as "Two Beards on a Train."
He's distracted from the derring-do of his subjects by their warts. In fact any whiff of scandal can take precedence, and I see from Wikipedia that among other things Lebrecht is a gossip columnist.
He's amateurish. Despite his brief treatment of many of his subjects he comes to far-reaching conclusions, about which he's lacking in all humility.
And in areas about which I know a little something, he makes errors, leading me to suspect that he does so in other areas as well.
Hence the recommendation to take this book with grains of salt.
Yet as I said the book does exude the sense of a calling as well as his boundless enthusiasm, and for that, I cut him some slack.
As to what he's up to, I found a clue in his discussion of Solomon Schechter and the Cairo geniza. For Norman Lebrecht, the main significance of the Cairo geniza is that it
refutes Christianity's view of Judaism as defunct by demonstrating its vivid evolution through engagement with other cultures. ... it connects the central works of Jewish thought and history. ... Schechter has found the key to Jewish connectivity.
I don't live in Great Britain, and so can't claim to have experienced the impingement of that culture. Yet it's possible that Lebrecht has tried to do what, from his angle, the contents of the Cairo geniza have done: established that not only were Jews not defunct but were here all along; not only that, we were movers and shakers.
Taken from that angle, the book is an act of defiance, an in-your-face refusal to be quiet any longer.
As Philip Roth, writing as "Philip Roth" in Operation Shylock said:
Everything dictated silence and self-control but I couldn't restrain myself and spoke my mind.
Yes.
From that point of view, I kind of like it.
2 1/2 stars rounded up to 3
Just don't forget those grains of salt.
January 11, 2023
১৮৪৭ থেকে ১৯৪৭ অর্থাৎ কমিউনিস্ট মেনিফেস্টো’র সময় থেকে ইসরাইল রাষ্ট্র গঠন পর্যন্ত; এই ১০০ বছর সময়ের মধ্যে কিছুসংখ্যক ইহুদি কিভাবে পৃথিবীকে বদলে দিয়েছে, আমাদের প্রাত্যহিক জীবন যাত্রার প্রতিটি অনুষঙ্গে তাঁরা কিভাবে ওতপ্রোতভাবে জড়িয়ে গিয়েছে তারই গল্প আছে এই বইতে। শিক্ষা, সাহিত্য, সঙ্গীত, সিনেমা, বিজ্ঞান, চিকিৎসা, চিত্রকলা, ব্যবসা, ব্যাংকিং; জাগতিক জগতের হেন কোন বিষয় নেই যার সাথে কোন এক ইহুদির আবিষ্কার বা অবদান জড়িয়ে নেই। পৃথিবী বদলের এই পরিক্রমায় যেসকল ইহুদি সেই সময়ে বিশেষ অবদান রেখেছিলো তাদের অনেকেরই নাম আমরা জানি- কার্ল মার্ক্স, সিগমুন্ড ফ্রয়েড, আইনস্টাইন, ফ্রানৎস কাফকা; দেশ জাতি নির্বিশেষে আমরা প্রায় প্রত্যকেই এদের নাম জীবনে একবার হলেও শুনেছি, এদের সম্পর্ক একটু হলেও জানি। মার্কসের সমাজতান্ত্রিক চেতনা এখনো বিভিন্ন দেশের রাজনীতিতে পূজনীয় বিষয়। আইনস্টাইনের আবিষ্কার পুরো পৃথিবী সম্পর্কে আমাদের ধারনাকেই বদলে দিয়েছে! সাহিত্য অনুরাগী কেউ কাফকা’র লেখা বা চিন্তা দ্বারা প্রভাবিত হননা এমন পাওয়া মুশকিল। আর ফ্রয়েডের বিভিন্ন থিওরী আজও কেন মনস্তত্ত্ববিদ্যার অন্যতম আলোচ্য বিষয় তাও আমরা সকলেই জানি। কিন্তু এই গুটিকয়েক মানুষ ছাড়াও আরো অনেক ইহুদি আছেন যাদের আবিষ্কার ও অবদানে আমাদের জীবন, আমাদের সমাজ প্রতিনিয়ন ঋদ্ধ ও সমৃদ্ধ হচ্ছে, কিন্তু সেই মানুষগুলো হারিয়ে গেছে বিস্মৃতির অতল গহবরে কিংবা লেখকের ভাষায় বলতে গেলে হয়তো ইচ্ছে করেই তাঁদের নাম অনেকটাই আড়াল করে রাখা হয়েছে।
যে সময়কালের কথা এই বইতে বলা হয়েছে, সেই সময়ে পৃথিবীতে সবচেয়ে অত্যাচারিত জাতিগুলোর মধ্যে একটি ছিলো ইহুদীরা। হিটলার বাহিনীর আক্রমণ, Third Reich বা নাৎজি শাসনামলের বিভিন্ন সময়ে লক্ষ লক্ষ ইহুদী মারা গেছে, ঘর ছাড়া হয়েছে বা অন্যান্য উপায়ে অত্যাচারিত হয়েছে। বিশ্বের বিভিন্ন দেশে সাধারন নাগরিক সুবিধা, চাকুরী, শিক্ষা ও অন্যান্য ক্ষেত্রে Access পাওয়ার জন্য অনেক ইহুদীদেরকে বাধ্য হয়ে খ্রিষ্ট ধর্ম গ্রহণ করতে হয়েছে। এমনকি খ্রিষ্ট ধর্ম গ্রহণের পরও শুধুমাত্র তাদের Jew origin এর জন্য তাদেরকে প্রতি পদে পদে অন্য আট/দশজন সাধারন নাগরিকের চেয়ে বেশী বাধার সম্মুখীন হতে হয়েছে। লেখক মনে করেন এই বাধার ফলে সৃষ্ট Anxiety বা দেয়ালে পিঠ ঠেকে যাওয়ার মত সিচুয়েশন তৈরী হয়েছে বলেই ইহুদীরা নিজের অস্তিত্ত্ব টিকিয়ে রাখতে তাদের নিজ নিজ জায়গায় অনেক বেশী এফোর্ট দিয়েছেন/ out of the box চিন্তা করেছেন, আর সেইসব চিন্তার ফলস্বরুপ Genius সব Idea তাঁরা পৃথিবীকে উপহার দিতে পেরেছেন। সেই দৃষ্টিকোণ থেকেই এই বইয়ের নাম ‘Genius and Anxiety’।
Benjamin D'Israeli, যুক্তরাজ্যের প্রথম এবং এখন পর্যন্ত একমাত্র ইহুদি বংশোদ্ভূত প্রধানমন্ত্রী, তিনি যখন প্রধানমন্ত্রী হন তখন যুক্তরাজ্যের পার্লামেন্টে ইহুদিরা সদস্য হতে পারতেন না। ডিসরেইলী'র বাবা মা হয়তো ভবিষ্যতের ব্যাপারে আগে থেকে আশংকা করেই স্কুলে থাকা অবস্থায়ই পুত্রসহ সপরিবারে খ্রিষ্ট ধর্ম গ্রহণ করেন। ৩০ বছরেরও বেশী সময় ধরে যুক্তরাজ্যের অন্যতম শক্তিশালী কনজারভেটিভ পার্টির নেতা, এককালের অর্থমন্ত্রী ও যুক্তরাজ্যের প্রধানমন্ত্রী হওয়া সত্ত্বেও শুধুমাত্র ইহুদি অরিজিন এর কারনে নিজ দল ও নিজ দেশে D'Israeli কে কি পরিমাণ হিংসা, হেনস্তা ও অপমানের ভেতর দিয়ে যেতে হয়েছে এই বইয়ে তার কিছু বর্ণনা আছে। অথচ বিশ্বরাজনীতি নিয়ে যারা পড়াশুনা করেন তারা জানেন যুক্তরাজ্যের রাজনীতিতে, দেশের কল্যানে বিভিন্ন নীতি প্রণয়নে, এবং ব্রিটিশ পার্লামেন্টে ইহুদীসহ সকল ধর্মের মানুষের সমান অংশগ্রহণ নিশ্চিত করতে D'Israeli কি অসামান্য অবদান রেখেছিলেন!
ক্যালিফোর্নিয়া Gold Rush এর সময়ে জার্মান থেকে আসা এক ইহুদী পেডলার Levis Strauss সোনার খনিতে কাজ করা শ্রমিকদের জন্য একটি টেকসই পোশাক বানাতে যেয়ে আবিষ্কার করেন Blue Jeans বা ডেনিম। এই ডেনিম ফেব্রিক বিশ্বের পোশাক শিল্পখাতে এক ব্যাখ্যাতীত Revolution নিয়ে আসে, আজকের বিশ্বে বাংলাদেশসহ এশিয়া ও আফ্রিকার অনেক উন্নয়নশীল ও অনুন্নত দেশ ডেনিম পণ্যকে কেন্দ্র করে রপ্তানি বানিজ্যে উত্তরোত্তর সাফল্য দেখিয়ে যাচ্ছে ও দেশের অর্থনীতিকে সমৃদ্ধ করছে। বিশ্ববিখ্যাত Levi's ব্র্যান্ড কে ��মরা হয়তো সবাই চিনি কিন্তু Levis Strauss এর নাম কয়জনে জানি?
জার্মানের এক ইহুদী পরিবার Rothschild Family এর হাত ধরেই যুক্তরাজ্য, যুক্তরাষ্ট্র ও ইউরোপের বিভিন্ন দেশে Investment Banking এর যাত্রা শুরু হয়, ব্যাংকিং ছাড়াও মাইনিং, রিয়েল এস্টেট, ওয়াইন মেকিং ইত্যাদি ক্ষেত্রে এখনো Rothschild Family ও তার বংশধরেরা একচ্ছত্র আধিপত্য চালিয়ে যাচ্ছে। যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের Goldman Sachs, Kuhn Loeb, Lehman Brothers, Solemon Brothers সহ আরো অনেক নামকরা ব্যাংকিং ও আর্থিক প্রতিষ্ঠানের মালিকও এই Rothschild পরিবারের উত্তরসূরীরা। আমেরিকার অর্থনীতিতে এইসব আর্থিক প্রতিষ্ঠানের ভূমিকা কতটুকু তা বইপত্র পড়ে আমরা জেনেছি, অথচ এই আমেরিকাতেও ইহুদীরা কি নিদারুণভাবে নিগৃহীত হয়েছে(কিছু কিছু ক্ষেত্রে Practicing Jews রা এখনো হচ্ছে)।
এইরকম ছোট গল্পের ছলে আরো প্রায় শ'খানেক ইহুদীর অবদান ও স্ট্রাগলের কথা উঠে এসেছে এই বইতে। সংগীত জগতে ফ্রেঞ্চ ইহুদি পিয়ানিস্ট Alkan, মিউজিক কম্পোজার Gustav Mahler, Georges Bizet, সাহিত্যে ফরাসী নভেলিস্ট Marcel Proust, সিনেমা জগতে বিশ্বের প্রথম আন্তর্জাতিক সেলিব্রিটি ফরাসী অভিনেত্রী Sarah Bernhardt, বিশ্বখ্যাত সিনেমা চরিত্র Superman এর ক্রিয়েটর, মিডিয়া বা সাংবাদিকতার জগতে The New York Times ও The New York Post এর মালিকদ্বয়, আমেরিকায় কালচারাল রেভ্যুলেশনের পথিকৃৎ সাহিত্যিক Emma Lazarus, চিকিৎসা ক্ষেত্রে ব্লাড ট্রান্সফিউশন এর আবিষ্কারক Karl Landsteiner, কেমোথেরাপির আবিষ্কারক Paul Ehrlich, ডিএনএ মডেল আবিষ্কারক Rosalind Franklin সহ সেই সময়ের আরো অনেক অনেক Genius ইহুদিদের মিনি বায়োগ্রাফি এই বই।
দারুণ উপভোগ করেছি ও নতুন অনেক কিছু জেনেছি।
যে সময়কালের কথা এই বইতে বলা হয়েছে, সেই সময়ে পৃথিবীতে সবচেয়ে অত্যাচারিত জাতিগুলোর মধ্যে একটি ছিলো ইহুদীরা। হিটলার বাহিনীর আক্রমণ, Third Reich বা নাৎজি শাসনামলের বিভিন্ন সময়ে লক্ষ লক্ষ ইহুদী মারা গেছে, ঘর ছাড়া হয়েছে বা অন্যান্য উপায়ে অত্যাচারিত হয়েছে। বিশ্বের বিভিন্ন দেশে সাধারন নাগরিক সুবিধা, চাকুরী, শিক্ষা ও অন্যান্য ক্ষেত্রে Access পাওয়ার জন্য অনেক ইহুদীদেরকে বাধ্য হয়ে খ্রিষ্ট ধর্ম গ্রহণ করতে হয়েছে। এমনকি খ্রিষ্ট ধর্ম গ্রহণের পরও শুধুমাত্র তাদের Jew origin এর জন্য তাদেরকে প্রতি পদে পদে অন্য আট/দশজন সাধারন নাগরিকের চেয়ে বেশী বাধার সম্মুখীন হতে হয়েছে। লেখক মনে করেন এই বাধার ফলে সৃষ্ট Anxiety বা দেয়ালে পিঠ ঠেকে যাওয়ার মত সিচুয়েশন তৈরী হয়েছে বলেই ইহুদীরা নিজের অস্তিত্ত্ব টিকিয়ে রাখতে তাদের নিজ নিজ জায়গায় অনেক বেশী এফোর্ট দিয়েছেন/ out of the box চিন্তা করেছেন, আর সেইসব চিন্তার ফলস্বরুপ Genius সব Idea তাঁরা পৃথিবীকে উপহার দিতে পেরেছেন। সেই দৃষ্টিকোণ থেকেই এই বইয়ের নাম ‘Genius and Anxiety’।
Benjamin D'Israeli, যুক্তরাজ্যের প্রথম এবং এখন পর্যন্ত একমাত্র ইহুদি বংশোদ্ভূত প্রধানমন্ত্রী, তিনি যখন প্রধানমন্ত্রী হন তখন যুক্তরাজ্যের পার্লামেন্টে ইহুদিরা সদস্য হতে পারতেন না। ডিসরেইলী'র বাবা মা হয়তো ভবিষ্যতের ব্যাপারে আগে থেকে আশংকা করেই স্কুলে থাকা অবস্থায়ই পুত্রসহ সপরিবারে খ্রিষ্ট ধর্ম গ্রহণ করেন। ৩০ বছরেরও বেশী সময় ধরে যুক্তরাজ্যের অন্যতম শক্তিশালী কনজারভেটিভ পার্টির নেতা, এককালের অর্থমন্ত্রী ও যুক্তরাজ্যের প্রধানমন্ত্রী হওয়া সত্ত্বেও শুধুমাত্র ইহুদি অরিজিন এর কারনে নিজ দল ও নিজ দেশে D'Israeli কে কি পরিমাণ হিংসা, হেনস্তা ও অপমানের ভেতর দিয়ে যেতে হয়েছে এই বইয়ে তার কিছু বর্ণনা আছে। অথচ বিশ্বরাজনীতি নিয়ে যারা পড়াশুনা করেন তারা জানেন যুক্তরাজ্যের রাজনীতিতে, দেশের কল্যানে বিভিন্ন নীতি প্রণয়নে, এবং ব্রিটিশ পার্লামেন্টে ইহুদীসহ সকল ধর্মের মানুষের সমান অংশগ্রহণ নিশ্চিত করতে D'Israeli কি অসামান্য অবদান রেখেছিলেন!
ক্যালিফোর্নিয়া Gold Rush এর সময়ে জার্মান থেকে আসা এক ইহুদী পেডলার Levis Strauss সোনার খনিতে কাজ করা শ্রমিকদের জন্য একটি টেকসই পোশাক বানাতে যেয়ে আবিষ্কার করেন Blue Jeans বা ডেনিম। এই ডেনিম ফেব্রিক বিশ্বের পোশাক শিল্পখাতে এক ব্যাখ্যাতীত Revolution নিয়ে আসে, আজকের বিশ্বে বাংলাদেশসহ এশিয়া ও আফ্রিকার অনেক উন্নয়নশীল ও অনুন্নত দেশ ডেনিম পণ্যকে কেন্দ্র করে রপ্তানি বানিজ্যে উত্তরোত্তর সাফল্য দেখিয়ে যাচ্ছে ও দেশের অর্থনীতিকে সমৃদ্ধ করছে। বিশ্ববিখ্যাত Levi's ব্র্যান্ড কে ��মরা হয়তো সবাই চিনি কিন্তু Levis Strauss এর নাম কয়জনে জানি?
জার্মানের এক ইহুদী পরিবার Rothschild Family এর হাত ধরেই যুক্তরাজ্য, যুক্তরাষ্ট্র ও ইউরোপের বিভিন্ন দেশে Investment Banking এর যাত্রা শুরু হয়, ব্যাংকিং ছাড়াও মাইনিং, রিয়েল এস্টেট, ওয়াইন মেকিং ইত্যাদি ক্ষেত্রে এখনো Rothschild Family ও তার বংশধরেরা একচ্ছত্র আধিপত্য চালিয়ে যাচ্ছে। যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের Goldman Sachs, Kuhn Loeb, Lehman Brothers, Solemon Brothers সহ আরো অনেক নামকরা ব্যাংকিং ও আর্থিক প্রতিষ্ঠানের মালিকও এই Rothschild পরিবারের উত্তরসূরীরা। আমেরিকার অর্থনীতিতে এইসব আর্থিক প্রতিষ্ঠানের ভূমিকা কতটুকু তা বইপত্র পড়ে আমরা জেনেছি, অথচ এই আমেরিকাতেও ইহুদীরা কি নিদারুণভাবে নিগৃহীত হয়েছে(কিছু কিছু ক্ষেত্রে Practicing Jews রা এখনো হচ্ছে)।
এইরকম ছোট গল্পের ছলে আরো প্রায় শ'খানেক ইহুদীর অবদান ও স্ট্রাগলের কথা উঠে এসেছে এই বইতে। সংগীত জগতে ফ্রেঞ্চ ইহুদি পিয়ানিস্ট Alkan, মিউজিক কম্পোজার Gustav Mahler, Georges Bizet, সাহিত্যে ফরাসী নভেলিস্ট Marcel Proust, সিনেমা জগতে বিশ্বের প্রথম আন্তর্জাতিক সেলিব্রিটি ফরাসী অভিনেত্রী Sarah Bernhardt, বিশ্বখ্যাত সিনেমা চরিত্র Superman এর ক্রিয়েটর, মিডিয়া বা সাংবাদিকতার জগতে The New York Times ও The New York Post এর মালিকদ্বয়, আমেরিকায় কালচারাল রেভ্যুলেশনের পথিকৃৎ সাহিত্যিক Emma Lazarus, চিকিৎসা ক্ষেত্রে ব্লাড ট্রান্সফিউশন এর আবিষ্কারক Karl Landsteiner, কেমোথেরাপির আবিষ্কারক Paul Ehrlich, ডিএনএ মডেল আবিষ্কারক Rosalind Franklin সহ সেই সময়ের আরো অনেক অনেক Genius ইহুদিদের মিনি বায়োগ্রাফি এই বই।
দারুণ উপভোগ করেছি ও নতুন অনেক কিছু জেনেছি।
September 21, 2019
Reviewed for Library Journal. I do think lots of people should read this, even as it’s hard to recommend it, because it is so dark and overwrought, but so is Jewish history.
October 24, 2019
A very interesting book, clearly based on solid research but also a good read, once you get used the slightly breathless historical present used. One might dispute the claims made for some of the people discussed - did Sarah Bernhardt really invent celebrity? - but the evidence provided for the influence of their Jewishness on the achievements of those who pronounced themselves firmly secular is intriguing.
The first half of the book is more compelling than the later chapters, which feel somewhat disorganised. The vignette approach became a bit tedious: I would have liked more chronological ordering and the connections between individuals could perhaps have been made clearer. The sections about musicians and composers were the most interesting, not surprising given the author's background. I learned a lot, very enjoyably.
The first half of the book is more compelling than the later chapters, which feel somewhat disorganised. The vignette approach became a bit tedious: I would have liked more chronological ordering and the connections between individuals could perhaps have been made clearer. The sections about musicians and composers were the most interesting, not surprising given the author's background. I learned a lot, very enjoyably.
February 7, 2021
This book affected me a lot more than I expected. It broadened my understanding of modern Jewish history immensely and will definitely leave a lasting impression.
April 12, 2020
What a depressing read. Also It didn't really answer the question it proposed to set out to as to what the jewish undercurrent was in all of these people, other than that they were all pretty messed up I guess??
Still gave it 4 stars as it was very educational.
Made me feel grateful to live nowadays with all of the problems we have life is still incomparably better nowadays in so many ways.
Still gave it 4 stars as it was very educational.
Made me feel grateful to live nowadays with all of the problems we have life is still incomparably better nowadays in so many ways.
July 12, 2024
Who is who of, mostly German, assimilated Jews, and the intricacies of their fornication escapades, from before the world went mad, until the state of Israel.
Serious name dropping of maestros, poets, philosophers, and other secular Illuminati, whose lives, for the most part, were cut by suicide.
A history of a people whose genius was their undoing.
Serious name dropping of maestros, poets, philosophers, and other secular Illuminati, whose lives, for the most part, were cut by suicide.
A history of a people whose genius was their undoing.
October 15, 2023
I've been meaning to review this book for a couple of weeks now, but seeing that I probably won't get to it, I'll just paste my follow up notes here, so I don't lose it.
Disraeli: Coningsby, Sybil, Tancred
Thakeray: Colingsby
Dickens caricature of Disraeli in Hard times: James Harthouse
Samson Rafael Hirsch: 19 letters
History of Geiger and Reform jews
The Prime Minister by Trollope (features bemont as mellmonte)
The Age of innocence by Edith Whaton ( features Belmont)
Oiliver Twist by Dickens (fagin, Eliza Davis attacks dickens about this)
Our Mutual friend by Dickens (atonement to Eliza Davis for Fagin)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (early inspiration for Zionism )
Who is Sarah Bernhardt, actress, celebrity
Watch Carmen, first premiered featuring Bernhardt
Kol nidrei by Hermann Levi (musical pc)
Who is Solomon Schechter?
movie: A serious man: about conservative Judaism
Israel Zangwill. Children of the Ghetto. Who is IZ?
Hatikva: smetana Moldova source
Without Schnitzler, there Is no Freud (read more about Schitzler and Hirschfeld, sexual science)
Watch the movie Eyes Wide Shut, based on schnitzlers play.
Irving Berlin, American music. 1500 songs.
Kafka and belz in Marienbad?
Leo Szilard: his version of the facts ( anti atomic bomb activist, inventor of the atom bomb)
Watch the movie Casablanca
Disraeli: Coningsby, Sybil, Tancred
Thakeray: Colingsby
Dickens caricature of Disraeli in Hard times: James Harthouse
Samson Rafael Hirsch: 19 letters
History of Geiger and Reform jews
The Prime Minister by Trollope (features bemont as mellmonte)
The Age of innocence by Edith Whaton ( features Belmont)
Oiliver Twist by Dickens (fagin, Eliza Davis attacks dickens about this)
Our Mutual friend by Dickens (atonement to Eliza Davis for Fagin)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (early inspiration for Zionism )
Who is Sarah Bernhardt, actress, celebrity
Watch Carmen, first premiered featuring Bernhardt
Kol nidrei by Hermann Levi (musical pc)
Who is Solomon Schechter?
movie: A serious man: about conservative Judaism
Israel Zangwill. Children of the Ghetto. Who is IZ?
Hatikva: smetana Moldova source
Without Schnitzler, there Is no Freud (read more about Schitzler and Hirschfeld, sexual science)
Watch the movie Eyes Wide Shut, based on schnitzlers play.
Irving Berlin, American music. 1500 songs.
Kafka and belz in Marienbad?
Leo Szilard: his version of the facts ( anti atomic bomb activist, inventor of the atom bomb)
Watch the movie Casablanca
January 5, 2021
I have a problem with the title of this book as it is self deprecating. It should be called Genius and Resilience. There is an amazing list of accomplishments by Jewish musicians, scientists, psychologist, politicians and pretty much any field you can name despite the world's anti-semitism.
April 28, 2020
I didn't buy the author's thesis, and at times, I'm not sure he did either, but the anecdotes were enjoyable, as was the portrait of Jewish cultural, social, and religious life before the Holocaust.
May 29, 2021
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the positive side, I learned a lot about many brilliant people, some of whom I was familiar with, and others who were unknown to me. These people were geniuses in science, politics, philosophy, music and the arts. I knew that some of them were Jewish but there were others who were not open about their faith and I didn’t know they were Jewish and frankly their faith never occurred to me one way or the other because I didn’t care. Reading this book made me realize how many of these geniuses were also very troubled souls. It’s not just anxiety as the title suggests. Many of these geniuses were depressed, neurotic, emotionally tormented by their sexuality (both homosexuality and promiscuity) as well their Jewish faith. All of these geniuses experienced rampant anti-Semitism throughout their lifetime, so it’s difficult to know what part of their psychological troubles could be attributed to religious persecution, and what part of their emotional troubles could be attributed to just being geniuses. Sometimes being very different intellectually and seeing the world in ways that others do not, contributes to geniuses feeling as if they are outsiders. Perhaps it is some of both.
On the minus side, I found a lot of this book a slog. I did not like the format at all. The author titled the chapters by years and too many people, often unrelated to each other, were included each chapter. I found myself really getting into the story of one genius for several pages and then in the middle of a page there was a large break and the author quickly moved on to another genius with little or no segway into the next story. I would have much preferred it if the author covered fewer geniuses in more depth rather than trying to cram so many people into his book and not sufficiently developing the stories of many of them.
On the minus side, I found a lot of this book a slog. I did not like the format at all. The author titled the chapters by years and too many people, often unrelated to each other, were included each chapter. I found myself really getting into the story of one genius for several pages and then in the middle of a page there was a large break and the author quickly moved on to another genius with little or no segway into the next story. I would have much preferred it if the author covered fewer geniuses in more depth rather than trying to cram so many people into his book and not sufficiently developing the stories of many of them.
February 3, 2020
Genius and Anxiety is an amazing book about the contributions that Jews have made to the world over the last 150 years. Marx, Freud, Proust, Einstein, Kafka and others have changed the way we see the world and how we react to it. Not to mention Irving Berlin and the Gershwin brothers as well as the creators of Superman and Hollywood. Fritz Haber is Germany discovered how to obtain nitrogen from the air to create fertilizer and feed the world. Rosalind Franklin discovered the DNA helix. The list goes on and on and on. In spite of all this and being an unbelievably small percentage of US and world population, the world finds Jews inconvenient and that is the anxiety. Israel is pummeled daily in the press for its treatment of the Palestinians and is threatened with annihilation, but this is only the current complaint. Hitler and really all of Europe murdered 6 million Jews for no reason other than they existed. Stalin planned and did murder Jews before he died. Jews are the convenient scapegoat and honestly we are not buying this nonsense anymore. If you are ever in Philadelphia, please visit the National Museum of American Jewish History to see Jewish contributions to this country. The list is long and amazing. Think about these things when you ponder the obscenity of the "Jewish question."
September 6, 2021
Norman Lebrecht did a fantastic job by reminding us, in this book, the story of individuals that massively contributed to world history between 1847 and 1947. He showed us how some personalities shaped our lives, removed roadblocks and opened doors to new ideas in almost all areas of knowledge. What do they have in common? They are Jewish!
What captured my attention in this book? The way the narrative unfolds and the diversity of topics covered. Usually, inventions are better known than individuals: in this book, you get the context, then you know the individual and only after this, the details about the inventions/discoveries. Additionally, this book triggered a desire to deepen my knowledge in other areas, like the Ottoman empire, the bolshevik revolution, etc.
What would I change in this book? The timeline and the book-length:
- I would prefer a book focused on all the Jewish stories rather than just 100 years. For sure, Jewish played essential roles before 1854 and after 1954.
- Five hundred twenty-five pages may be appropriated for a support book (e.g. university), but not a good fit for someone who just wants to know more about how the Jewish changed the world.
Having said this, I would recommend this book to someone who is fascinated by the Jewish story. In any case, this is not my cup of tea.
What captured my attention in this book? The way the narrative unfolds and the diversity of topics covered. Usually, inventions are better known than individuals: in this book, you get the context, then you know the individual and only after this, the details about the inventions/discoveries. Additionally, this book triggered a desire to deepen my knowledge in other areas, like the Ottoman empire, the bolshevik revolution, etc.
What would I change in this book? The timeline and the book-length:
- I would prefer a book focused on all the Jewish stories rather than just 100 years. For sure, Jewish played essential roles before 1854 and after 1954.
- Five hundred twenty-five pages may be appropriated for a support book (e.g. university), but not a good fit for someone who just wants to know more about how the Jewish changed the world.
Having said this, I would recommend this book to someone who is fascinated by the Jewish story. In any case, this is not my cup of tea.
April 2, 2024
This seems like a trait too basic to comment much on but isnt Lebrecht frugal-sensible in the way he writes?
Although the reading can get you in a mess of little details, he compromises the information conveyed, often by the vitality of the situation we're at. This way sentences provided are kept varied in length, as he breezes through the conclusive life phases of each figures and their circles when enough backstory is built towards their high points. In my case this One-at-a-time element is what most non-fics dont have much of.
Witty and tragic bits span throughout, with incredible figures whose strong sense of duty and dedication we can all try to emulate.
Although the reading can get you in a mess of little details, he compromises the information conveyed, often by the vitality of the situation we're at. This way sentences provided are kept varied in length, as he breezes through the conclusive life phases of each figures and their circles when enough backstory is built towards their high points. In my case this One-at-a-time element is what most non-fics dont have much of.
Witty and tragic bits span throughout, with incredible figures whose strong sense of duty and dedication we can all try to emulate.
January 16, 2020
I had to skim parts of the book because it was somewhat boring. I did learn a few new things that I didn't know--for instance, Einstein was a prolific violinist. Of course, the book gets into some of the evil things that were done to Jews, but it also highlights the discoveries that they made. There was a lot of people dying early in those days--so many died young from undetected illness, mistreatment, unhealthy lifestyles, and obviously the holocaust.
Read
November 10, 2020This is a book that asks whether anxiety is a catalyst for Jewish genius. I DNFed at 10%. The idea is interesting and it’s tempting to read enough to be able to maybe have a sense of his argument. However, there’s no way I’m going to read 460+ pages on this topic.
December 22, 2019
I liked it although it was a tad scholarly for me
March 9, 2020
This is such an enjoyable book and the writing is scintillating and refreshing. Each mini-story of a brilliant Jewish genius kept my interest throughout the book. Not one miss.
November 7, 2025
Interesting premise, and I loved the intro. He lost me a little at the end when he talked about the antisemitism threatening Israel. There are a lot of takes on Israel and that isn't one I ascribe to.
June 27, 2020
Many times an interesting tell-all about revered personalities. They were really weird.
I could not get through this. I guess I just didn't care that much about all of the details.
I could not get through this. I guess I just didn't care that much about all of the details.
September 19, 2025
Loved this book from start to finish
March 23, 2020
“This book shines a light upon the contributions of one remarkable culture, without which our world would appear very different today.”
Among the plethora of books about Jewish history, Genius & Anxiety shines as a beacon of deeply researched historical accuracy. This intensely absorbing chronicle of notable Jews who changed the world in positive, meaningful ways will stand the test of time and investigation.
Between 1847 and 1947, a handful of men and women changed the way we see the world.
The reader is carried through the vast text as though the author were a close friend assembling an armada of material and evidence. Norman Lebrecht enables the reader to see what most others cannot—to feel what they cannot. He explores how uniquely Jewish characteristics, within the chasm of anti-Semitism, enable noteworthy Jewish figures to see what others could not.
While this marvelous text must certainly become a standard university textbook, filled with detailed and profound data, it also reads like novel, evocative and exciting. The author becomes your friendly, knowledgeable tour guide to history. Through the author’s depth of inquiry into these historical Jewish figures, we come to value their individual and collective contributions. Because of them, the world will never again be the same.
It’s truly amazing that any of these unforgettable Jewish writers, artists, engineers, physicians, teachers, and politicians can accomplish anything at all, considering the world around them is filled with malevolence and mendacity toward Jews. In every nation, on every continent, Jews are despised, despite the fact that Jews rarely broke a law, committed a crime or performed acts of civil disobedience.
The world’s inhabitants never required a reason to hate Jews. Anti-Semitism came naturally to Gentiles, taught generation to generation by parents who proffered all sorts of illusory reasons to detest Jews. The fact that Jews survived at all seems miraculous, let alone that they performed acts that enriched and lifted up humanity.
Jews made every society better through the arts, medicine, science, engineering, philosophy, finance, education, politics, and government. Yet they remained despised throughout history because of a litany of rumors and lies about them, espoused by national heroes like Hitler, Charles Lindbergh, and Henry Ford. It’s so easy to hate—so difficult to tolerate.
This book is a celebration of Jewish genius within a century of increasing anti-Semitism. It reveals in detail the successes of Proust, Freud, and Einstein. It also provides similar examples from people whose names are not upon the fingertips of historians. Their contributions nevertheless are of value in our daily lives. This is made all together timely by a disturbing increase in acts of anti-Semitism everywhere.
In every generation, dating many centuries, Jews have faced an existential threat from the societies in which they live. They are pressured to assimilate, but then despised for it. They represent a tiny percentage of the world’s population, but have accomplished a mammoth share of new, successful knowledge in science, medicine, politics, art, and engineering.
Genius & Anxiety proffers the path of Jews in shaping the world we live in today. From Mendelssohn to the creation of the State of Israel, author Lebrecht delivers a detailed account of many famous and successful Jews and many others less famous. He reveals how uniquely Jewish circumstances enabled otherwise normal people to display uncommon ingenuity and success. Yet the cultural context of this genius has gone largely unnoticed.
From communism to the blues and from operas to the theory of relativity, Jews changed the world profoundly in this century. Their mental acuity and passion have largely shaped the world we live in today. Yet, in virtually every case, the magnificent quality of their genius and effort to improve humanity has been buried under centuries of anti-Jewish hatred. That loathing remains today. And this repugnance has changed the Jews as well.
Genius & Anxiety builds to a crescendo of Jewish exceptionalism. Lebrecht describes how Jewish circumstances have enabled otherwise ordinary people to display uncommon imagination and resourcefulness in the face of a problem, resulting in some of the most significant advances in modern history. His writing, references and personal contacts are brilliant. This book shines a light upon the contributions of one remarkable culture, without which our world would appear very different today.
Among the plethora of books about Jewish history, Genius & Anxiety shines as a beacon of deeply researched historical accuracy. This intensely absorbing chronicle of notable Jews who changed the world in positive, meaningful ways will stand the test of time and investigation.
Between 1847 and 1947, a handful of men and women changed the way we see the world.
The reader is carried through the vast text as though the author were a close friend assembling an armada of material and evidence. Norman Lebrecht enables the reader to see what most others cannot—to feel what they cannot. He explores how uniquely Jewish characteristics, within the chasm of anti-Semitism, enable noteworthy Jewish figures to see what others could not.
While this marvelous text must certainly become a standard university textbook, filled with detailed and profound data, it also reads like novel, evocative and exciting. The author becomes your friendly, knowledgeable tour guide to history. Through the author’s depth of inquiry into these historical Jewish figures, we come to value their individual and collective contributions. Because of them, the world will never again be the same.
It’s truly amazing that any of these unforgettable Jewish writers, artists, engineers, physicians, teachers, and politicians can accomplish anything at all, considering the world around them is filled with malevolence and mendacity toward Jews. In every nation, on every continent, Jews are despised, despite the fact that Jews rarely broke a law, committed a crime or performed acts of civil disobedience.
The world’s inhabitants never required a reason to hate Jews. Anti-Semitism came naturally to Gentiles, taught generation to generation by parents who proffered all sorts of illusory reasons to detest Jews. The fact that Jews survived at all seems miraculous, let alone that they performed acts that enriched and lifted up humanity.
Jews made every society better through the arts, medicine, science, engineering, philosophy, finance, education, politics, and government. Yet they remained despised throughout history because of a litany of rumors and lies about them, espoused by national heroes like Hitler, Charles Lindbergh, and Henry Ford. It’s so easy to hate—so difficult to tolerate.
This book is a celebration of Jewish genius within a century of increasing anti-Semitism. It reveals in detail the successes of Proust, Freud, and Einstein. It also provides similar examples from people whose names are not upon the fingertips of historians. Their contributions nevertheless are of value in our daily lives. This is made all together timely by a disturbing increase in acts of anti-Semitism everywhere.
In every generation, dating many centuries, Jews have faced an existential threat from the societies in which they live. They are pressured to assimilate, but then despised for it. They represent a tiny percentage of the world’s population, but have accomplished a mammoth share of new, successful knowledge in science, medicine, politics, art, and engineering.
Genius & Anxiety proffers the path of Jews in shaping the world we live in today. From Mendelssohn to the creation of the State of Israel, author Lebrecht delivers a detailed account of many famous and successful Jews and many others less famous. He reveals how uniquely Jewish circumstances enabled otherwise normal people to display uncommon ingenuity and success. Yet the cultural context of this genius has gone largely unnoticed.
From communism to the blues and from operas to the theory of relativity, Jews changed the world profoundly in this century. Their mental acuity and passion have largely shaped the world we live in today. Yet, in virtually every case, the magnificent quality of their genius and effort to improve humanity has been buried under centuries of anti-Jewish hatred. That loathing remains today. And this repugnance has changed the Jews as well.
Genius & Anxiety builds to a crescendo of Jewish exceptionalism. Lebrecht describes how Jewish circumstances have enabled otherwise ordinary people to display uncommon imagination and resourcefulness in the face of a problem, resulting in some of the most significant advances in modern history. His writing, references and personal contacts are brilliant. This book shines a light upon the contributions of one remarkable culture, without which our world would appear very different today.
January 19, 2021
Genius & Anxiety takes us on this remarkable Jewish journey through a revolutionary century closely following the lives of so many intriguing characters and avant-garde iconoclasts who changed the face of this planet. Lebrecht guides us through this adventure filled with marvellous anecdotes, memoirs and quips that reveal so much about these extraordinary personalities, how they contributed to society, how they thought, how they lived and, all too often, how they died. He covers the heroism, vices, incredible achievements and mixed legacies of these famous and, sometimes not-so-famous, historical figures.
The book randomly jumps from character to character meandering through history but there is still somehow a natural feel to the fluidity of the transitions. What I love most is the globetrotting, how the reader is teleported across the world through such contrasting magnificent landscapes and monumental landmarks, all while being filled in with captivating details of our protagonists’ life stories. One moment we are accompanying Heine on one of his riverside strolls along the Rhine, the next we are discovering ancient manuscripts in the dusty Geniza attic in Fustat Cairo on one of Schechter’s expeditions. From observing Freud and Herzl bustle around the genteel ninth district of Vienna, to Wittgenstein contemplating what life is all about in a wooden hut on one of the slopes of the majestic Norwegian Fjords. From Modigliani’s pauper days in the Montmartre arrondissement, to the Hongkew ghetto in Shanghai nicknamed “Little Vienna” where thousands of Jews take refuge from Nazi persecution; from deep beyond the Pale of Settlement in freezing Siberia to the early Jewish settlements in the sand dunes of Palestine. Lebrecht does a superb job interweaving these stories together.
The tractate of Sanhedrin states: ישראל... אף שחטא ישראל הוא “Israel, Even though he sins, he remains Israel”. The Sages derive from this Talmudic statement ‘once a Jew, always a Jew’. Essentially, this is the central thesis of the book. No matter how assimilated into the wider culture or far removed a Jew is from his own faith, the knowledge that they are Jewish always lingers and lurks in the background, in the subconscious. Lebrecht valiantly goes to (too?) great lengths to salvage some Jewishness and rehabilitate their reputation. Historically, it seems that those that tried their utmost to discard it, always encountered a Wagner who reminded them they were a Mendelssohn. It is this deep sense of identity and cultural schizophrenia which generates an anxiety that propels these geniuses into action and sometimes into despair. Lebrecht delves into this identity complex, highlighting the cultural traits and ‘talmudic kopf’ he believes are engrained in the collective consciousness of European Jews despite so many of them not having had a traditional upbringing.
It is beyond belief what many of these individuals were able accomplish in their lifetimes with a bit of genius, a lot of determination and admittedly some protexia. On the flip side, deeply disturbing is the severe mental anguish and existentialist angst many of these people and their families suffered from, evidenced by the fact the word ‘suicide’ appears 34 times throughout the book.
Particularly interesting for me was the thorough psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud and some Freudian themes present in Scripture and the Talmud (in Chapter 7 ); Proust’s Madeleine cake (Ch.4); the politicking and backstabbing of Soviet Russia (Ch.10) that also took place behind the scenes of the Zionist project (throughout); unpacking the phenomena that is Der jüdische Selbsthaß the self-loathing Jew (Ch.12); and finally the realisation that for many of these non-religious Jews, religious affiliation is not a binary switch but an up and down lifelong relationship of tension and pride.
It’s an arts and culture history course. At times it can get quite music-oriented and detail-heavy, I found myself skipping rather than skimming those sections but overall it is well balanced, humorous, maintains a quick pace, is extremely informative and entertaining. I very much enjoyed the way Lebrecht presents the philosophical speculations and challenges these profound thinkers and doers faced. It might not be an edge-of-the-seat thriller, but nearly all the vignettes of these personalities are fascinating, so as a bedside read it will keep you awake much longer than you had intended. I would strongly recommend it to all those with an interest in Jewish history and culture.
The book randomly jumps from character to character meandering through history but there is still somehow a natural feel to the fluidity of the transitions. What I love most is the globetrotting, how the reader is teleported across the world through such contrasting magnificent landscapes and monumental landmarks, all while being filled in with captivating details of our protagonists’ life stories. One moment we are accompanying Heine on one of his riverside strolls along the Rhine, the next we are discovering ancient manuscripts in the dusty Geniza attic in Fustat Cairo on one of Schechter’s expeditions. From observing Freud and Herzl bustle around the genteel ninth district of Vienna, to Wittgenstein contemplating what life is all about in a wooden hut on one of the slopes of the majestic Norwegian Fjords. From Modigliani’s pauper days in the Montmartre arrondissement, to the Hongkew ghetto in Shanghai nicknamed “Little Vienna” where thousands of Jews take refuge from Nazi persecution; from deep beyond the Pale of Settlement in freezing Siberia to the early Jewish settlements in the sand dunes of Palestine. Lebrecht does a superb job interweaving these stories together.
The tractate of Sanhedrin states: ישראל... אף שחטא ישראל הוא “Israel, Even though he sins, he remains Israel”. The Sages derive from this Talmudic statement ‘once a Jew, always a Jew’. Essentially, this is the central thesis of the book. No matter how assimilated into the wider culture or far removed a Jew is from his own faith, the knowledge that they are Jewish always lingers and lurks in the background, in the subconscious. Lebrecht valiantly goes to (too?) great lengths to salvage some Jewishness and rehabilitate their reputation. Historically, it seems that those that tried their utmost to discard it, always encountered a Wagner who reminded them they were a Mendelssohn. It is this deep sense of identity and cultural schizophrenia which generates an anxiety that propels these geniuses into action and sometimes into despair. Lebrecht delves into this identity complex, highlighting the cultural traits and ‘talmudic kopf’ he believes are engrained in the collective consciousness of European Jews despite so many of them not having had a traditional upbringing.
It is beyond belief what many of these individuals were able accomplish in their lifetimes with a bit of genius, a lot of determination and admittedly some protexia. On the flip side, deeply disturbing is the severe mental anguish and existentialist angst many of these people and their families suffered from, evidenced by the fact the word ‘suicide’ appears 34 times throughout the book.
Particularly interesting for me was the thorough psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud and some Freudian themes present in Scripture and the Talmud (in Chapter 7 ); Proust’s Madeleine cake (Ch.4); the politicking and backstabbing of Soviet Russia (Ch.10) that also took place behind the scenes of the Zionist project (throughout); unpacking the phenomena that is Der jüdische Selbsthaß the self-loathing Jew (Ch.12); and finally the realisation that for many of these non-religious Jews, religious affiliation is not a binary switch but an up and down lifelong relationship of tension and pride.
It’s an arts and culture history course. At times it can get quite music-oriented and detail-heavy, I found myself skipping rather than skimming those sections but overall it is well balanced, humorous, maintains a quick pace, is extremely informative and entertaining. I very much enjoyed the way Lebrecht presents the philosophical speculations and challenges these profound thinkers and doers faced. It might not be an edge-of-the-seat thriller, but nearly all the vignettes of these personalities are fascinating, so as a bedside read it will keep you awake much longer than you had intended. I would strongly recommend it to all those with an interest in Jewish history and culture.
December 17, 2019
Well-written and very informative.
I learned a tremendous amount from reading this book. I thought that the histories of communism and Zionism were very interesting and well written. At times, however the book seemed to get bogged down with minute detail. There should be subdivision based on the name of the person being discussed , with the name of the person as the title for that piece of the text. With his way of introducing a new person, it was often confusing as to which person was being discussed.
I learned a tremendous amount from reading this book. I thought that the histories of communism and Zionism were very interesting and well written. At times, however the book seemed to get bogged down with minute detail. There should be subdivision based on the name of the person being discussed , with the name of the person as the title for that piece of the text. With his way of introducing a new person, it was often confusing as to which person was being discussed.
December 15, 2021
I really enjoyed reading this book, as it highlighted how though they only made up a tiny proportion of the world population between 1847-1947 many Jews in so many fields made a huge difference to the world they lived in and the world we live in today.
The book highlights the achievements of prominent Jews I knew already about and other Jews I knew little about. It covered art, business, music, politics, philosophy, psychology, literature, healthcare, science and so much more.
What made this book so fascinating as it provided warts and all pictures of the characters being written about on the page including their relationship with their Jewish faith and heritage, as well as other Jews. This ensured that their portrayals were colourful and lifelike and in doing so the reader is transported in to the life of these characters.
Its also a history book as the writer provides strong portrayals of the history of the Times they lived in whether its the streets of Vienna, the Pogroms in Russia, the beginning of the state of Israel, Nazi era Germany and much much more. In doing so the author transports in to these times, the epoch of the era and the never ending anxieties of the Jews who could never escape persecution.
The book is also a great interest to me as a Jew in how it looks at Jewish identity, faith, the internal divisions within Judaism and how Judaism interacts with the world at large. In doing so the writer muses interestingly on why and it continues to this day Jews make a much bigger difference to the world relative to the size of the world's population.
I also like how the book starts and ends in a bookshop in Tel Aviv where the author brings in his love of literature and its no surprise therefore that the book is well researched, which is shown by the extensive bibliography.
With a deft touch the author also personalises the book by situating it within his own Jewish heritage and family.
The book is not perfect which is why I have not given it 5 stars. I thought there were unnecessary digs at reform and Conservative Judaism showing the reader's own bias and thus tainting the picture he gave of the battle between orthodox and reform Judaism.
There was nothing on Jewish sports stars and little on Jewish economists which to me is a missing piece of the jigsaw of the story he presents on how Jews changed the world between 1847-1947.
It also felt European and USA centric. Whilst the Jews of the Middle East and Maghreb were covered it was not in great detail and as the late historian Martin Gilbert showed there were many leading Jewish figures for instance in Iraq and other countries who also helped change the world in the time period the author covered. There was from what I recall hardly any mention of the Jews of South America. However, in fairness to the author in a book of this type covering a large period of many characters in under 450 pages the author has to be judicious in what he covers and miss out stuff. I personally would have liked more coverage of what I mentioned, but I can understand why it was not.
This book was close to five stars and I found the book enlightening, inciteful and the portrayals of the time and the Jews of the time who helped change the world leapt off the page in the hands of an author who really knows how to make best use of the English language.
I definitely recommend this book to people.
The book highlights the achievements of prominent Jews I knew already about and other Jews I knew little about. It covered art, business, music, politics, philosophy, psychology, literature, healthcare, science and so much more.
What made this book so fascinating as it provided warts and all pictures of the characters being written about on the page including their relationship with their Jewish faith and heritage, as well as other Jews. This ensured that their portrayals were colourful and lifelike and in doing so the reader is transported in to the life of these characters.
Its also a history book as the writer provides strong portrayals of the history of the Times they lived in whether its the streets of Vienna, the Pogroms in Russia, the beginning of the state of Israel, Nazi era Germany and much much more. In doing so the author transports in to these times, the epoch of the era and the never ending anxieties of the Jews who could never escape persecution.
The book is also a great interest to me as a Jew in how it looks at Jewish identity, faith, the internal divisions within Judaism and how Judaism interacts with the world at large. In doing so the writer muses interestingly on why and it continues to this day Jews make a much bigger difference to the world relative to the size of the world's population.
I also like how the book starts and ends in a bookshop in Tel Aviv where the author brings in his love of literature and its no surprise therefore that the book is well researched, which is shown by the extensive bibliography.
With a deft touch the author also personalises the book by situating it within his own Jewish heritage and family.
The book is not perfect which is why I have not given it 5 stars. I thought there were unnecessary digs at reform and Conservative Judaism showing the reader's own bias and thus tainting the picture he gave of the battle between orthodox and reform Judaism.
There was nothing on Jewish sports stars and little on Jewish economists which to me is a missing piece of the jigsaw of the story he presents on how Jews changed the world between 1847-1947.
It also felt European and USA centric. Whilst the Jews of the Middle East and Maghreb were covered it was not in great detail and as the late historian Martin Gilbert showed there were many leading Jewish figures for instance in Iraq and other countries who also helped change the world in the time period the author covered. There was from what I recall hardly any mention of the Jews of South America. However, in fairness to the author in a book of this type covering a large period of many characters in under 450 pages the author has to be judicious in what he covers and miss out stuff. I personally would have liked more coverage of what I mentioned, but I can understand why it was not.
This book was close to five stars and I found the book enlightening, inciteful and the portrayals of the time and the Jews of the time who helped change the world leapt off the page in the hands of an author who really knows how to make best use of the English language.
I definitely recommend this book to people.
December 8, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. It would make a wonderful Hannukah present. This book showcases many Jews who have influenced our times and tells about their contributions and their lives. I highly enjoyed this book and will be purchasing copies as presents this Hannukah.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
January 14, 2025
The title notwithstanding, the book barely has a central thesis. The author's interests are sometimes too particular, which bars the book from being truly excellent. The short bits about Wittgenstein and Einstein are shallow: under-researched and under-interpreted.
Still, the chapters about musicians, authors, Nazis, and psychoanalysis (to my mind at least) shine a new light on things in a most original way. Dry and often hilarious prose.
Freud:
"(Freud) informs Fliess that he 'no longer believes' in the theory (seduction theory). His reasons are, first, that he has failed to 'bring any analysis to a real conclusion,' and, second, that if adult hysteria is caused by childhood sexuality, every father, 'not excluding my own', would have to be suspected of 'being perverse' with his children. Since Freud refuses to believe that his father abused him as a child, the theory must be wrong. Instead, he now thinks that hysteria is caused by repressed fantasies of sexual activity in the infant mind. He has no evidence for this idea beyond the present line of logic. In practice, if a patient now tells him she remembers an adult playing with her sexually as a girl, Freud will consider this to be the child's imagination, acting as a cause of her adult sexual problem."
"(Freud:) 'At the College of Physicians Breuer gave a big speech in my honour and introduced himself as a converted adherent to the sexual aetiology. When I thanked him for this in private, he spoiled my pleasure by saying, 'But all the same, I don't believe it.' ' [...] Freud recasts his mentor as a mortal enemy. 'Our intimate friendship gave way to total estrangement ... I fell into the habit ... of also avoiding the neighbourhood and the house'. When Josef Breuer, old and frail, sees Freud on the street, he throws open his arms in greeting. Sigmund Freud just walks by."
"In November 1912, Jung refers in a Munich lecture to 'differences of opinion.' Freud, who is in the audience, faints. Jung rushes over, lifts him up, and carries him to a couch, as if for analysis or burial. Freud pooh-poohs his faint as 'a bit of neurosis that I ought to look into,' telling Ernest Jones [...] that there is 'some piece of unruly homosexual feeling at the root of the matter'. Did Freud pass out for love of Jung? If so, the feeling is reciprocated. Hung admits to 'an undeniable erotic undertone' in his relations with Freud, but he denounces these 'abominable feelings'. Jung hates homosexuals."
Still, the chapters about musicians, authors, Nazis, and psychoanalysis (to my mind at least) shine a new light on things in a most original way. Dry and often hilarious prose.
Freud:
"(Freud) informs Fliess that he 'no longer believes' in the theory (seduction theory). His reasons are, first, that he has failed to 'bring any analysis to a real conclusion,' and, second, that if adult hysteria is caused by childhood sexuality, every father, 'not excluding my own', would have to be suspected of 'being perverse' with his children. Since Freud refuses to believe that his father abused him as a child, the theory must be wrong. Instead, he now thinks that hysteria is caused by repressed fantasies of sexual activity in the infant mind. He has no evidence for this idea beyond the present line of logic. In practice, if a patient now tells him she remembers an adult playing with her sexually as a girl, Freud will consider this to be the child's imagination, acting as a cause of her adult sexual problem."
"(Freud:) 'At the College of Physicians Breuer gave a big speech in my honour and introduced himself as a converted adherent to the sexual aetiology. When I thanked him for this in private, he spoiled my pleasure by saying, 'But all the same, I don't believe it.' ' [...] Freud recasts his mentor as a mortal enemy. 'Our intimate friendship gave way to total estrangement ... I fell into the habit ... of also avoiding the neighbourhood and the house'. When Josef Breuer, old and frail, sees Freud on the street, he throws open his arms in greeting. Sigmund Freud just walks by."
"In November 1912, Jung refers in a Munich lecture to 'differences of opinion.' Freud, who is in the audience, faints. Jung rushes over, lifts him up, and carries him to a couch, as if for analysis or burial. Freud pooh-poohs his faint as 'a bit of neurosis that I ought to look into,' telling Ernest Jones [...] that there is 'some piece of unruly homosexual feeling at the root of the matter'. Did Freud pass out for love of Jung? If so, the feeling is reciprocated. Hung admits to 'an undeniable erotic undertone' in his relations with Freud, but he denounces these 'abominable feelings'. Jung hates homosexuals."
Want to read
December 4, 2019I just adore the works of Kafka, Freud and Marx wow! This book seems to be an insightful and interesting one. As the title suggests some intrapsychic process went through these beautiful minds and maybe there is mention of transgenerational trauma - which I am very interested to know about. Today's society is getting polluted with the extreme-right political approach through media. Hoping to see some humane understanding of these beautiful souls in this book.
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