This masterwork of interpretative history begins with a bold declaration: The Modern Age is the Jewish Age - and we are all, to varying degrees, Jews. The assertion is, of course, metaphorical. But it underscores Yuri Slezkine's provocative thesis. Not only have Jews adapted better than many other groups to living in the modern world, they have become the premiere symbol and standard of modern life everywhere. Slezkine argues that the Jews were, in effect, among the world's first free agents. They traditionally belonged to ...
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This masterwork of interpretative history begins with a bold declaration: The Modern Age is the Jewish Age - and we are all, to varying degrees, Jews. The assertion is, of course, metaphorical. But it underscores Yuri Slezkine's provocative thesis. Not only have Jews adapted better than many other groups to living in the modern world, they have become the premiere symbol and standard of modern life everywhere. Slezkine argues that the Jews were, in effect, among the world's first free agents. They traditionally belonged to a social and anthropological category known as "service nomads," an outsider group specializing in the delivery of goods and services. Their role, Slezkine argues, was part of a broader division of human labor between what he calls Mercurians - entrepreneurial minorities - and Apollonians - food-producing majorities. Since the dawning of the Modern Age, Mercurians have taken center stage. In fact, Slezkine argues, modernity is all about Apollonians becoming Mercurians - urban, mobile, literate, articulate, intellectually intricate, physically fastidious, and occupationally flexible. Since no group has been more adept at Mercurianism than the Jews, he contends, these exemplary ancients are now model moderns. The book concentrates on the drama of the Russian Jews, including emigres and their offspring in America, Palestine, and the Soviet Union. But Slezkine has as much to say about the many faces of modernity - nationalism, socialism, capitalism, and liberalism - as he does about Jewry. Marxism and Freudianism, for example, sprang largely from the Jewish predicament, Slezkine notes, and both Soviet Bolshevism and American liberalism were affected in fundamental ways by the Jewish exodus from the Pale of Settlement. Rich in its insight, sweeping in its chronology, and fearless in its analysis, this sure-to-be-controversial work is an important contribution not only to Jewish and Russian history but to the history of Europe and America as well.
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Add this copy of The Jewish Century to cart. $18.78, good condition, Sold by Seattle Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Princeton University Press.
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Add this copy of The Jewish Century to cart. $37.00, like new condition, Sold by Southampton Sag Harbor Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southampton, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Princeton University Press.
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Like New in Like New jacket. First Edition, First Printing. Published by Princeton University Press, 2004. Octavo. Black cloth over blue boards stamped in gold. Book is like new; clean with no writing or names. Sharp corners and spine straight. Binding tight and pages crisp. Small blue smudge on top of page ends. Dust jacket is like new with light shelf wear. 438 pages. ISBN: 9780691119953. 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions or if you would like a photo. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Southampton, New York.
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