Books

  1. Jewish Travel Guide
    Jewish Travel Guide
  2. The Jewish Year Book
    The Jewish Year Book
  3. Holocaust Literature: Schulz, Levi, Spiegelman and the Memory of the Offence (Parkes-Wiener Series on Jewish Studies)
    Holocaust Literature: Schulz, Levi, Spiegelman and the Memory of the Offence (Parkes-Wiener Series on Jewish Studies)
  4. The Jewish Travel Guide: International Edition
    The Jewish Travel Guide: International Edition
  5. A History of the Holocaust (Parkes-Wiener Series on Jewish Studies)
    A History of the Holocaust (Parkes-Wiener Series on Jewish Studies)
  6. Holocaust Historiography from a Jewish Perspective (Parkes-Wiener Series on Jewish Studies)
    Holocaust Historiography from a Jewish Perspective (Parkes-Wiener Series on Jewish Studies)
  7. A History of the Holocaust (Parkes-Wiener Series on Jewish Studies)
    A History of the Holocaust (Parkes-Wiener Series on Jewish Studies)
  8. Forging Modern Jewish Identities: Public Faces and Private Struggles
    Forging Modern Jewish Identities: Public Faces and Private Struggles
  9. The Extermination Camp Treblinka
    The Extermination Camp Treblinka
  10. From the Edge of the World: The Jewish Refugee Experience Through Letters and Stories
    From the Edge of the World: The Jewish Refugee Experience Through Letters and Stories
  11. The Golden Chain: Fifty Years of the Jewish Quarterly
    The Golden Chain: Fifty Years of the Jewish Quarterly
  12. Warning and Hope: Nazi Murder of European Jewry
    Warning and Hope: Nazi Murder of European Jewry
  13. The Image of the Jew in European Liberal Culture, 1789 - 1914
    The Image of the Jew in European Liberal Culture, 1789 - 1914
  14. The Image of the Jew in European Liberal Culture, 1789 - 1914
    The Image of the Jew in European Liberal Culture, 1789 - 1914
  15. Holocaust in the Ukraine
    Holocaust in the Ukraine
  16. This Ain't Hell, But You Can See It from Here: Gulf War Sketchbook
    This Ain't Hell, But You Can See It from Here: Gulf War Sketchbook
  17. Holocaust Memoir Digest
    Holocaust Memoir Digest
  18. The Battle for Hunger Hill: The Lst Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment at the Joint Readiness Training Center
    The Battle for Hunger Hill: The Lst Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment at the Joint Readiness Training Center
  19. Defence of Hill 781: An Allegory of Modern Mechanised Combat
    Defence of Hill 781: An Allegory of Modern Mechanised Combat
  20. A People's History of England
    A People's History of England
  21. Darby's Rangers: We Led the Way
    Darby's Rangers: We Led the Way
  22. Tempered - Not Quenched: History of the ISTC, 1951-97
    Tempered - Not Quenched: History of the ISTC, 1951-97
  23. "Soundings": Windrush Echoes No 10 (Soundings S.)
    "Soundings": Windrush Echoes No 10 (Soundings S.)
  24. Liberty or Death: The Struggle for Democracy in Britain 1780-1830
    Liberty or Death: The Struggle for Democracy in Britain 1780-1830
  25. "New Formations": Mobilities No 43 (New Formations)
    "New Formations": Mobilities No 43 (New Formations)
National Geographic Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Eastern Europe
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A stunning acheivement !
  • National Geographic Jewish Heritage Travel:A Guide to Eastern Europe
  • A wonderful resource for travellers (and armchair travellers)
 National Geographic Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Eastern Europe
Ruth Ellen Gruber
Manufacturer: National Geographic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. Poland's Jewish Landmarks: A Travel Guide
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  5. Virtually Jewish: Reinventing Jewish Culture in Europe

ASIN: 1426200463
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Book Description

Journalist, author, and travel expert Ruth Ellen Gruber presents a new edition of her acclaimed 1992 guide to Jewish heritage sites in Eastern Europe. Widely acknowledged as the best and most comprehensive book of its kind, this is the only Jewish travel guidebook that takes visitors to hundreds of fascinating sites in small villages and remote hamlets as well as major cities.

This expanded and updated edition includes new coverage of Austria, Ukraine, and Lithuania in addition to Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and all of the former Yugoslavia, areas that are the ancestral home to the great majority of North American Jews. Gruber provides specific historical and cultural information about these Central and Eastern European nations. Then she journeys across each country, exploring Jewish roots in major cities and small shtetls, describing the vestiges of each Jewish community and offering personal insights and reflections on the various people she meets.

Readers will find a wealth of practical travel information throughout, including a language guide, listings of useful local addresses, and up-to-date details on sites that have only recently become accessible to visitors. From exploring the massive 16th-century synagogue in the historic Polish town of Pincrow to strolling among the 12,000 headstones crowded into the old Jewish cemetery in Prague, to meeting resident Jews proudly embracing their ancient culture in Slovenia, this volume takes you on a very special and memorable tour.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A stunning acheivement !.......2007-06-09

Wow! This book is no mere travel guide! I had intended only to riffle through the pages. Instead, I read the entire book, unable to resist being carried along on a most remarkable tour. Jewish Heritage Travel is rich with information about the geography, culture, religions, architecture, and thousands of years of history in a part of the world that has deep significance for the human story. For, let's face it, shockingly horrible things happened here. While the book is organized like a travel guide, its dramatic impact is unmistakable and resonates with the reader long after the book has been set down.

Ruth Ellen Gruber is a most compelling guide. Her descriptions of specific towns, synagogues, cemeteries, and "evocative remnants of shtetls" are not warmed-over fifth-hand accounts. She is forever scrambling over walls, swimming through weed grown fields, tramping through shin deep snow, knocking on doors, crawling through holes in ruined walls, and striking up conversations with strangers. One trusts her reports utterly. And she knows everything. Why Jews were invited into this area, or driven from that one, and when, and by whom, and who these people were, how they worshiped, how they differed from one another, and what their destiny became. She tells us about their land, their history, their architecture, their persecutors, their champions. She finds their cemeteries, describes their headstones, and reads us the inscriptions. If people were taken by the thousands into the woods outside their towns, shot and dropped into ditches, she tells us that too.

Gruber's narrative style is intriguing. The prose is always crisp and objective with a reportorial attention to detail and an allegiance to fact, but sometimes it rises to pure lyricism. The result is a deeply evocative, richly detailed account and the reader finds himself on a journey that is both informative and poignant. The small black-and-white photos are remarkably clear and helpful, and are placed near to the relevant text. They are of an excellent quality. This is small thing, perhaps, but important in its effect.

There is a good map at the front of the book. Within each chapter, and at each chapter's end, are numerous additional resources - publications, web sites, addresses of note, and more. The index is stellar.

In the final analysis, this book is destined to become a classic of travel literature because it is illuminating in so many ways. Its readership should not be limited to a specific, relatively small group of travelers, and at the small price the book is offered, it needn't be.

3 out of 5 stars National Geographic Jewish Heritage Travel:A Guide to Eastern Europe.......2007-05-29

Not as good as expected. Not as much information as I expected about the areas covered, and some important parts of Eastern Europe are not included.

5 out of 5 stars A wonderful resource for travellers (and armchair travellers).......2007-05-16

Ruth Ellen Gruber's new guide gives readers the best of both worlds--interesting and accurate histories of the places covered and extensive practical information to help both more experienced and new travellers.

Her introductions to each chapter (the book is organized by country) give readable narratives of each country's history, covering both general history and specifically Jewish history. She is great about giving multiple place names, a particularly useful addition in countries formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Unlike general travel guides (and some Jewish ones as well), which often only list official synagogues in main cities, Gruber lists unaffiliated and independant organizations, giving as much contact information as possible. It's obvious that through her experience as a journalist, she made many contacts with people actually working in the communities listed.

She also lists many sites that are no longer functioning in their original capacity--unused synagogues (or those that now serve different functions), out-of-the-way cemetaries, and former houses and businesses of local notables. Gruber seems especially interested in architecture, and points out particularly interesting examples of synagogue design and decoration.

I especially appreciated Gruber's emphasis on visiting communities that are active and vibrant today. While the Holocaust did irreperable damage to once-thriving Jewish life, and while it can seem that Europe is full of remnants of the Jewish past, this book gives due time to the Jewish present.
The Great Jewish Cities of Central and Eastern Europe: A Travel Guide and Resource Book to Prague, Warsaw, Cracow, and Budapest
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Awesome guide and resource book
  • Delightful
  • Absorbing insight into jewish life
  • More than a travel guide
  • Eye-opening. Don't leave home without it!
 The Great Jewish Cities of Central and Eastern Europe: A Travel Guide and Resource Book to Prague, Warsaw, Cracow, and Budapest
Eli Valley
Manufacturer: Jason Aronson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  1. The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million
  2. National Geographic Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Eastern Europe
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ASIN: 0765760002

Book Description

The Great Jewish Cities of Central and Eastern Europe: A Travel Guide and Resource Book to Prague, Warsaw, Cracow, and Budapest is the most comprehensive guidebook covering all aspects of Jewish history and contemporary life in Prague, Warsaw, Cracow, and Budapest. This remarkable book includes detailed histories of the Jews in these cities, walking tours of Jewish districts past and present, intensive descriptions of Jewish sites, fascinating accounts of local Jewish legend and lore, and practical information for Jewish travelers to the region.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Awesome guide and resource book.......2000-09-22

I was lucky to find this book in the library and used it extensively while in Warsaw, Cracow and Prauge. The detail is incredible, the writing style excellent with a lilt of humor. This book -made- my trip so I'm buying my own copy. If you take this book to Europe with you don't bother hiring a guide or taking a tour. It has more than any individual could offer.

5 out of 5 stars Delightful.......2000-05-19

This book is a gem! I pick it up and settle down in my chair and am transported in time and place to Eastern Europe. I was in Prague before I read the book (it had not been published yet) and now when I read the Prague sections everything comes to life. Mr. Valley has a way with words. He supples the reader with his dense knowledge of his subject in an easy to read, matter of fact style. I would recommend this book to anyone whether or not they are planning to travel to the cities described. I am eagerly awaiting his next book.

5 out of 5 stars Absorbing insight into jewish life.......2000-03-16

Having known Eli many years ago at University, I couldn't wait to read this book to re-establish spiritual contact. What I wasn't prepared for was the depthand passion that Eli had written on the subject. This is a masterpiece that once you have picked up you will not put down until you have seen the cities and experienced the tours first hand. My only regret is that the vast majority of those reading this book may never actually visit Prague.

5 out of 5 stars More than a travel guide.......1999-12-17

I picked this book up from a friend's bookshelf intending to flip through the pages. I ended up taking it home with me and reading it from cover to cover. It's well written and filled with a great deal of fascinating history. Not having ever been to the cities mentioned in the book, I can't comment on the accuracy of the tourist information. But this book would be of interest to anyone who has a curiosity about the history of Jewish life in eastern Europe. If it's ever reprinted, photographs would make it even better.

5 out of 5 stars Eye-opening. Don't leave home without it!.......1999-10-18

For anyone interested in the Jewish history of Eastern Europe, this book is compulsory. It also presents conceptual and detailed history of over a thousand years and up-to-date descriptions of what the traveller will find now. Don't leave it behind despite its heft.
A Travel Guide to Jewish Russia & Ukraine
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A ***correction*** to misinformation by "daryoush"
  • Nice, but incomplete series
  • Terrific travel guide to Russian & Ukrainian Jewish history.
  • It made me drop my chalupah and turn the page
 A Travel Guide to Jewish Russia & Ukraine
Ben G. Frank
Manufacturer: Pelican Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

JapanJapan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
UkraineUkraine | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1565543556

Book Description

century, Benjamin of Tudela, to create the first all-encompassing guide to Jewish Russia and Ukraine.

Until Communism fell, the Jews of Russia and Ukraine had been suppressed and denied human and religious rights. Today, not only are they reborn, but they are rebuilding a new, vibrant community for the twenty-first century. Frank explores this rebirth and guides both first-time and experienced travelers to Jewish and historical sites. He profiles synagogues, monuments, and schools that can be found in such cities as St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev, Odessa, and even Kishinev in Moldava.

Approximately 120 years ago, the majority of the world's Jews lived in what was called the "Pale of Settlement" in the Russian Empire. Most American Jews today trace their ancestry to Russia and the surrounding territories, especially Ukraine. A Travel Guide to Jewish Russia & Ukraine will aid those visiting places where relatives once lived, as well as those simply in search of history.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A ***correction*** to misinformation by "daryoush".......2003-12-06

This is a response to an earlier review that contained a major, major Big Lie.

Specifically, "daryoush" from Seattle, in the course of commenting upon this book and expressing interest in a book about "recent Jewish history" in Lebanon, West bank and the Gaza strip, says the following:

"I like to better understand the Israeli massacres in the refugee camps."

He/she also goes on to make several other specious statements including usage of the term "concentration camps."

Daryoush's statement is a Big Lie masquerading as a review. I have serious reservations about his/her agenda, but setting that aside for a second, the deaths in the refugee camps (that I assume he refers to, related to the 1982 war in Lebanon) were not "Israeli massacres." They were carried out, by all credible accounts, by Lebanese militiamen arguably under Israel's influence. This is not to excuse the killings, nor even Sharon's alleged negligence or complicity, but even in the worst case terming them "Israeli massacres" is simply inaccurate.

One has to wonder about the mindset of someone who would use such a term.

The need to respond to such garbage is a sad commentary upon the state of discourse on Israel and our times generally.

- Ezra in Minnesota

4 out of 5 stars Nice, but incomplete series.......2002-09-10

I just got back from Russia and found this book. I wish I had found this earlier. It was hard to find English speaking guides in Russia as most excursions are in Russian. It would have been nice to read about the Jewish influences in the Russian history before the travel.

I also liked the writing style, very clear and captivating.

For completeness sake, I have one request from the authors....I am planning a visit to Lebanon, West bank and Gaza soon. I hope a brave soul would write about recent Jewish history in these areas before I go there. I like to better understand the Israeli massacres in the refugee camps, the villages and cities that they destroyed, the prisons and concentration camps that Israelis operated in southern Lebanon, and the occupied territories, etc. Such a book would be a valuable tool in understanding the current Middle East.

5 out of 5 stars Terrific travel guide to Russian & Ukrainian Jewish history........2000-04-04

Approximately 120 years ago the majority of the world's Jews lived in what was called the "Pale of Settlement" in the Russian Empire of the Czar. Most American Jews today trace their ancestry to Russia, the Ukraine, and the surrounding territories and provinces of the old empire. Until Communism fell, the Jews of Russia and Ukraine had been suppressed and denied human and religious rights. With the collapse of the Communists, Judaism has emerged from centuries old persecution and pogrom and the synagogues, monuments, schools and other Jewish historical sites are available and accessible to the western visitor. Ben Frank's A Travel Guide To Jewish Russia & Ukraine is an invaluable, highly recommended travel guide for planning and implementing a trip in search of their family heritage and religious roots throughout Russian and the Ukraine.

5 out of 5 stars It made me drop my chalupah and turn the page.......1999-10-31

Not only informative but terrific reading. It will keep you on the edge of your seat. A travel log that's enjoyable to read whether you visit the places or not. Put on your seatbelt because this is a journey well worth taking!
Israel A Spiritual Travel Guide: A Companion For The Modern Jewish Pilgrim
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A Guide for a Sacred Journey
  • Use Fodors for the hotel & body, and this for the spirit
  • Beyond camera-toting tourism
  • Adds an ever deeper spritual dimension to travel to Israel
 Israel A Spiritual Travel Guide: A Companion For The Modern Jewish Pilgrim
Lawrence A. Hoffman
Manufacturer: Jewish Lights Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1580232612

Amazon.com

Israel: A Spiritual Travel Guide: A Companion for Modern Jewish Pilgrims by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman is slender enough to slip in your backpack and big enough to change your life. On his first visit to Israel, the American Rabbi Hoffman was disappointed that his reactions to the holy sites seemed to stop with "Wow." His subsequent trips have been more fulfilling, because he's developed a system of preparation and approach involving reading, prayer, and journaling that is summarized in Israel: A Spiritual Travel Guide. Look to Lonely Planet to help you find cheap eats and soft beds; and keep this guide handy for maps, time lines, and blessings (in both Hebrew and English) appropriate to most destinations that draw pilgrims--ranging from the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem to the mystical center Safed. Rabbi Hoffman's writing describes pilgrimages with an appealing blend of gravity and levity; his guide can help shape your memories of pilgrimage into your own distinctive "contribution to the memory of this people that has never suffered from amnesia." --Michael Joseph Gross

Book Description

Fodor and Frommer tell you how to get there. This guide tells how to make it a spiritual experience.The plane tickets to Israel are bought, the itinerary is planned, and the suitcases are finally packed....Journeys take preparation; but being ready is one thing-being spiritually prepared is another.Now, in time for the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel, here's a Jewish spiritual travel guide to Israel. It combines, in quick reference format, ancient blessings, medieval prayers, biblical references, and modern poetry, to help today's pilgrim tap into the deep spiritual meaning of the ancient-and modern-sites of the Holy Land.For each of 25 major tourist destinations (from the Western Wall to Masada to a kibbutz in the Galilee), arranged by geographic regions, it gives guidance in sharply-focused three-step sections:* Anticipation: To read in advance. Facts to help orient you in the site's historical context.* Approach: To read on the way there. Readings from varied sources to orient you in the site's spiritual context.* Acknowledgment: To read at the site. A prayer or blessing to integrate the experience into your spiritual consciousness, as well as a journaling space for writing your thoughts and reactions.The only travel book that helps readers to prepare spiritually for the occasion, Israel-A Spiritual Travel Guide is more than a guidebook: It is a spiritual map.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Guide for a Sacred Journey.......2006-07-19

As a first time traveler to Israel, I found this book to be an extremely helpful guide for both mind and soul. It is well organized and it provides a great framework to prepare you spirtually for the trip as well as each remarkable location when you are there. I felt connected to the places I visited, to the people who have come before me, and to God. I was able to reflect on how the experiences affected me each day. This book helped me to organize my thoughts and memories that I will cherish forever. I am grateful to the author for his hard work in creating this well written book.

4 out of 5 stars Use Fodors for the hotel & body, and this for the spirit.......2000-02-08

It is the must companion for any traveler to Israel. The blurb says it best, "the other travel books tell you how to get there, Hoffman tells you why to go and what to do when you're there." Hoffman, a Professor of Liturgy at HUC-JIR, is best known for his book, "What Is A Jew?" His travel guide is in four sections. The first contains eighteen (chai) meditations to be read before embarking on one's trip to Israel. The second section is on preparations for "the eve before the trip." Section three focuses on "How to prepare while on the way." And Section four is filled with 25 specific pilgrimage destinations for the traveler. For each site, such as The Kotel or a Kibbutz, Professor Hoffman provides THE FOUR A's -- four sections on "Anticipation," "Approach," "Acknowledgment," and "Afterthought." In Anticipation, one reads an overview of the sight; Approach contains biblical, rabbinic and other writings about the site; Acknowledgment is filled with prayers or readings for you to recite at your destination; and Afterthought provides a blank space in which you may record your feelings, emotions, or just plain journal entries that you can keep forever. This is an excellent companion for a trip to Israel.

4 out of 5 stars Beyond camera-toting tourism.......2000-01-29

Hoffman, a prolific author of scholarly and popular works on Jewish liturgy, now offers the first guide that speaks to the many travelers to Israel who visit for spiritual growth, not suntanning. Full of inspired suggestions for spiritual preparation, meditations, and prayers.

One important caveat: Hoffman, surprisingly, includes a self-composed Jewish prayer to be said on the Temple Mount. Visitors should be aware that, in order to avoid tensions with the Mount's Muslim administrators, it is ILLEGAL for non-Muslims to pray on the Temple Mount, and any non-Muslim caught doing so faces immediate expulsion and prosecution.

Apart from this oversight, Hoffman's guide is essential for anyone making a spiritual pilgrimage to Israel.

5 out of 5 stars Adds an ever deeper spritual dimension to travel to Israel.......1998-07-09

Hoffman has given all travelers to Israel a great gift with this innovative new volume. Forget dry recitations of dates and so forth (though the essentials are here.) This guide explain WHY you are there and opens the door of understanding to what you might feel inside.

Rather than describe the way things are, Hoffman gives you the tools to discover what these places really are and what they can mean to you as an individual.

Highly, highly recommended. And if you ever have a chance to hear Hoffman lecture, do that also.

Dan Lavin

Jewish Museums of the World
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Beautiful, but costly
 Jewish Museums of the World
Grace Cohen Grossman
Manufacturer: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

GeneralGeneral | Museums & Collections | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Exhibition CatalogsExhibition Catalogs | Museums | Museums & Collections | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books | General | Guggenheim Museum | Los Angeles County Museum of Art | Metropolitan Museum of Art | Museum of Contemporary Art | Museum of Modern Art | National Gallery Of Art | Tate Gallery | Whitney Museum of American Art
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ASIN: 0883639807

Book Description

Since the beginning of the diaspora, the myriad of communities throughout the world where Jews settled have influenced Jewish life and art. This exchange between Jewish and non-Jewish cultures has generated a rich variety of Judaica, however it was only in the late nineteenth century that a conscious attempt was made to establish Jewish museums to preserve the Jewish heritage. Jewish Museums of the World celebrates these important museums. This large format book showcases the incredible array of Jewish art, manuscripts, books, ceremonial objects, and historic artifacts that have been produced and collected in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Featured museums include: The Jewish Museum, New York; Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Beth Hatefutsoth, Tel Aviv; and the Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam. 250 four-color illustrations, as well as a directory with phone, fax, and website information on the 200 museums visited in this book are included.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Beautiful, but costly.......2006-01-18

A lovely coffee-table book. Weighs a ton! While the pictures are beautiful, there are surpringly few of them. Even the text is scantier than might be expected -- the type is very large! What's there is fine -- but for the price I might have expected more.

The Guide to Jewish Italy
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • beautiful
 The Guide to Jewish Italy
Annie Sacerdoti
Manufacturer: Rizzoli International Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Italy | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0847826538
Release Date: 2004-10-01

Book Description

The Jewish community in Italy has a long and storied history going back more than two millennia to the days of the Roman Empire. This remarkable guidebook-the only one of its kind-is a city by city survey of every location in Italy that contains art, artifacts, or architecture tied to the Jewish heritage of Italy. Included are scores of synagogues as well as scrolls, texts, artifacts, and Jewish cemeteries. Of particular interest are sidebars explaining fascinating peculiarities of various Italian Jewish communities. For instance, Tuscan Jews in the medieval period spoke a distinctive version of Italian dialect peppered with phrases from Hebrew and other languages, a sort of Italian Yiddish. Sure to fascinate devotees of Jewish culture and lovers of Italy, The Guide to Jewish Italy is perfect for armchair travelers and inveterate tourists alike.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars beautiful.......2007-01-27

I have the paperback and I flip through it all the time. What beautiful synagogues. They are a remnant of what was once a rich culture.
Poland's Jewish Landmarks: A Travel Guide
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • A Guide to Jewish Poland
 Poland's Jewish Landmarks: A Travel Guide
Joram Kagan
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

BelgiumBelgium | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0781808510

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars A Guide to Jewish Poland.......2004-04-20

What can you say about Jewish Poland in 264 pages or less?
This is a subject for volumes, not for a thin paperback.
I suppose that if I had to describe Polish Jewry "on one foot" (as they say) this book would be it. This is the book in your backpack when you travel to Poland. It opens with the Kaddish. You'll need that often, as you travel through the country.

It then goes on to list some of the Jewish landmark events in a "Chronology of Jewish Presence in Poland before and after WWII" which starts at 860 AD. That's just to give you a taste of how rich the Jewish heritage was in Poland.

There are several short chapters on the history of the Jews in Poland, and an introduction to Polish Jewish culture. But the most interesting and useful information in this book is the reference material. The book contains maps of various sorts, showing not just geography but also demographic information. There are lists and photos, diagrams, and names, names and more names.

So many contributed to the rich Jewish life in Poland that they are too great to mention. The section on famous figures and their contributions is simply a list of names
and their contributions. This hardly does justice so giants like Shalom Aleichem and Isaac Bashevis Singer, each one line entries under Yiddish and Hebrew Writers. Imagine that.

Almost a third of this book is a glossary of Polish Jewry. Here you will find an alphabetical listing of some of the most significant locations and a paragraph on each.
Though some of the entries are very thorough, I was disappointed in the number of items missing from this 100-page section, particulary the religious references.

The chapter on major Jewish centers in Poland, focuses on Cracow, Lodz, Lublin, and Warsaw. The book has an interesting chapter on tracing ones roots in Poland. It discusses the types of documents that are helpful for tracing family members and the repositories in Poland where they can be found. There is a list of modern day congregations and synagogues, striking in that it is two sides of a single page. There is another section on current Jewish organizations, recommended reading and an index.

I suppose if such a rich topic as Poland's Jewish Landmarks had to be summed up in a portable paperback, this book does the job. But readers of this book should take the recommended reading section seriously, and use this book as just the start of a fascinating study.

Jewish Museums of North America: A Guide to Collections, Artifacts, and Memorabilia
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    		Jewish Museums of North America: A Guide to Collections, Artifacts, and Memorabilia
    Nancy Frazier
    Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0471542024
    A Travel Guide to Jewish Europe
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • Entertaining background, poor resource
    • Excellent Resource
    		 A Travel Guide to Jewish Europe
    Ben G. Frank
    Manufacturer: Pelican Publishing Company
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    1. The Jewish Traveler: Hadassah Magazine's Guide to the World's Jewish Communities and Sights
    2. Jewish Travel Guide 2005: International Edition (Jewish Travel Guide)
    3. Jewish Travel Guide 2006: International Edition (Jewish Travel Guide)
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    5. Poland's Jewish Landmarks: A Travel Guide

    ASIN: 1565547764

    Book Description

    World War II left many scars on the face of Europe and left its ugly mark on the Jewish people. More than five decades later, an abundance of Jewish institutions and cultural activities still endure in a world that goes back more than 2,000 years—Jewish Europe.

    "A Travel Guide to Jewish Europe" introduces readers to areas that survived the devastating effects of the war, and guides first-time and experienced European travelers to local Jewish neighborhoods and historical sites. Kosher restaurants, historic synagogues, and ancient monuments are detailed. New chapters on the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland allow this updated book to combine practical travel information, intriguing stories, and an enlightening investigation into Jewish contributions to European history. It is a perfect companion for those seeking their roots in Europe or for those searching for places where relatives and friends lived.

    Customer Reviews:

    3 out of 5 stars Entertaining background, poor resource.......2002-12-16

    I have now traveled extensively through Europe and toted Frank's guide with me everywhere. Whenever I reach a new country I enjoy reading his account of the history of Jews there, as well as what he has to say on major Jewish sites, architecture and the other facts he offers. However, as a listing of useful reference information such as telephone numbers, addresses, etc., it is woefully short.
    Too many of his facts are simply out of date. He frequently gives the home phone number of rabbis and others connected with various synagogues rather than those of the shuls themselves. This can make it extremely difficult if not impossible to contact anyone on a Friday morning or afternoon before Shabbos. On the other hand, there are no personalized contacts - he never gives the information for a community liason, for instance, or anyone else who could be of assistance. He has no maps or other means of indicating how close or far things are from a central point or each other; just try and make it around Dublin with this guide and you'll find yourself miles out of town with no easy way back.
    It frequently becomes clear in his writing that Ben Frank is rather lenient in his halacha. He recommends kosher-style restaurants without valid hashkachah while failing to mention many of those which do. Paris and London are endowed with fabulous Jewish communities and consequently dozens of kosher establishments, but one would never know it from his guide.

    5 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource.......2002-06-19

    This book is filled with a wealth of information that every Jew traveling to Europe should have. It is an excellent resource guide with addresses, phone numbers and email addresses to help you plan your itinerary and get more information from European sources prior to your trip. I highly recommend this book.
    Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Central and Eastern Europe
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      		Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Central and Eastern Europe
      Ruth Ellen Gruber
      Manufacturer: Wiley
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

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      ASIN: 0471546127

      Book Description

      A combination travel guide and history book to Jewish culture in Central and Eastern Europe, it is written in a lively style. The author takes readers into a ghostly, multidimensional shadow land of ``Then, Now and What Might Have Been''. Besides providing invaluable tips on getting around, locating historical sights, what to bring and wear, etc., it also includes numerous references, historical and fictional works that will futher aid readers in preparation for their trip.

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