A History of the Jews in the Modern World

Starred review from May 30, 2005
In this monumental and complex narrative, successor to his distinguished 1958 The Course of Modern Jewish History
(substantially revised in 1990), Sachar, generally acknowledged as the preeminent scholar of modern Jewish history, proves himself to be not only a superb historian, but a compelling storyteller. The scope of this project is both exhilarating and daunting, including western and eastern Europe, America and the Middle East from the 17th century to the present; Sachar's major themes include the history of anti-Semitism, the development of the nation state, the rise of European fascism and the immigration of Jews throughout Europe and to the Americas. Sachar has constructed this history with such adroitness that it is best read as a sweeping chronicle of not just Jewish but world history. As always, Sachar's informal, almost conversational style is both inviting and accessible, whether sketching out the complicated position of Jews in Brazil during the country's fight for independence from Portugal in 1824 or demonstrating how Jewish religious thinking was vital in the advancement of modern medicine. For both the general reader and the scholar, this is an important addition to the literature on both Jewish and Western history and culture.

August 15, 2005
Sachar (history, emeritus, George Washington Univ; "A History of Israel") wrote "The Course of Modern Jewish History "almost 50 years ago". "Known for encyclopedic but nimbly written works that appeal to the informed lay reader, he here revisits the gargantuan subject of Jewish history from the 18th century to the present. Organized into digestible chapters that are both thoughtful and appealing, the text ably balances narrative (e.g., "Sephardic-Oriental Diaspora") with theoretical overview (e.g., "The Impact of Western Culture on Jewish Life"). Sachar touches only briefly on Israel, which he has treated fully elsewhere. Though readers will want to consult his separate "A History of the Jews in America" for a full rendition of that story, the material presented here provides more than a basic overview. Sachar has filled a definite gap; David Vital's "A" "People Apart: The Jews in Europe, 1789 -1939" ably addresses parts of the subject, but Sachar provides a fuller worldview. A crowning achievement of a lifetime of diligent research and writing (complete with comprehensive bibliography and index), this book is highly recommended for most libraries, although an academic audience would expect source notes. -Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., Ill.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2005
Sachar, author of 15 books and the editor of the 39-volume " Rise of Israel: A Documentary History," begins his new, compelling, and comprehensive book with an account of the European Jews and anti-Semitism they faced as early as the sixteenth century, in what he calls their "indeterminate status as non-Europeans." He goes on to describe such events as their life in western Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the French Revolution and Jewish questions, the Jews of czarist Russia, their struggle for civil rights in the 1830s and 1840s, and their place in what Sachar labels an emancipated economy. There are chapters on such topics as the impact of Western culture on Jewish life and coping with Jewish identity, the rise of Jewish life in America, the era of pogroms in Russia, the migration of east European Jewry (1881-1914), and the onset of modern anti-Semitism. Sachar discusses the life of Theodor Herzl and the rise of political Zionism, the effect of World War I on European Jews and postwar anti-Semitism, the Balfour Declaration in 1917, quotas limiting Jewish immigration to the U.S. in 1921, the rise of Hitler and the Holocaust, and the birth of Israel. Sachar does not discuss the State of Israel, saying that the history of an independent nation deserves independent treatment, but otherwise he has written the definitive history of the Jews, unparalleled in its scope and depth.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)