Yiddish Civilisation

October 10, 2005
Kriwaczek's charming but frustratingly rambling history places Yiddish in a very broad historical context. Admitting that he is neither "a learned Jew nor a professional historian," Kriwaczek (In Search of Zarathustra
) cuts a broad swath through history as he moves, in the opening chapters, from the forum in Rome to the emergence of a distinct "Yiddish civilization" in medieval eastern Europe. Kriwaczek's insistence on defining Yiddish as a culture, or civilization, rather than a language is smart and useful—it allows him to capture the intricacies of a very complicated history and to avoid a simple "black-and-white clash between gentiles and Jews"—but it also means that his tapestry is sometimes too large. When he does narrow his focus—on, say, the autobiography of Glikl of Hamlin, born 1646, whose memoir is the first major Yiddish work by a woman—he is evocative and precise. While there is an endless amount of fascinating detail (Slavic fashions in shoes became trendy in 14th-century Europe), and all is presented in an enjoyable narrative, the book becomes more of a rumination on a number of related issues than a concise examination of a culture and a language. 16 pages of illus. not seen by PW
; maps.

November 15, 2005
Kriwaczek, the British author of "In Search of Zarathustra", has written a warm, anecdotal, and captivating account of the story of Yiddish (an amalgam of many languages, including German, Hebrew, and Aramaic), the 1000-year-old language that served as the mother tongue for central and eastern European Jews (also known as Ashkenazi Jewry). Although Yiddish is spoken by only a minority of Jews today, Kriwaczek believes that many people view Yiddish from the wrong end of the telescope and, sadly, perceive it as a language headed for extinction. The author tries to show a brighter side of Yiddish by chronicling the great achievements of Yiddish speakers through the ages. The book is not a dry study of the etymological growth of Yiddish; nor is it a scholarly study based on original research. It is popular history at its best, and it is recommended for medium and large libraries. Dovid Katz's "Words on Fire: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish" is probably more authoritative, but libraries would do well to own both books as they complement each other." -Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL"

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2005
The Jews of Central and Eastern Europe may not have constituted a "nation" n the conventional sense because they lacked a central political authority and many of the other attributes of the modern nation-state. But they certainly were a civilization, with a common language, religion, and a myriad of shared cultural traits. Kriwaczek tracks the origins, flowering, and destruction of this unique, vibrant, and tenacious culture with a fine mixture of pride, regret, and eloquence. He begins with a haunting visit to the sites of several once-thriving Jewish communities whose current residents have virtually no memory of the Jewish past. Kriwaczek then proceeds with a chronological narrative, commencing with an interesting, often-surprising examination of Jewish centers in the Roman Empire north of the Mediterranean. He describes the gradual shift of Jewish life eastward after the slaughters of Jews in the Rhineland during the era of the Crusades. Out of this horror came the development of a rich culture centered upon religion and the Yiddish language. This is an outstanding survey of a civilization that endured against great odds but has now essentially vanished.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)