Dictionary of Jewish Biography [Hardcover]

Geoffrey Wigoder (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This valuable and well-illustrated dictionary summarizes the lives of almost 1000 Jews "who have left an indelible mark on humankind" from biblical times to the present. Biographies are crisply written and generally accurate, and they supply at least one bibliographical citation. In addition, boxed insets provide apt quotations or anecdotes about many of the subjects--a feature not found in other dictionaries of this type. Excluding individuals who are alive, this volume makes no claim to comprehensiveness. Still, it is surprising to find entries for the astrologer Nostradamus but not for Jesus and for the actor Al Jolson but not for Jonah. Countless other famous Jews are omitted for lack of space. Still, this exceedingly useful work repays browsing and can answer a great many reference questions. For all libraries.
- Jonathan D. Sarna, Brandeis Univ., Waltham, Mass.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1206 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Library Reference (November 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013210105X
• ISBN-13: 978-0132101059
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,442,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and useful, October 14, 2004

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Dictionary of Jewish Biography (Hardcover)

This is an informative and useful volume. It contains the biographies of one - thousand well- known Jews. However as could be expected there is considerable room for doubting some selections and lamenting the exclusion of others. My own particular trouble- spot was the omission of Rabbi Shlomo Goren who contributed so much to the building of the modern State of Israel. Rabbi Goren not only shaped the Army Rabbinate, he helped create the religious law that is central in many different areas of Jewish life today . He is also the rare combination of a man of book and sword, a man deeply learned and at the same time courageous in action.
One other point. Jewish history is filled with the lives of thousands upon thousands of remarkable individuals whose creations and works are not known. A true biography of Jews who made real contributions to their own people and to the world would have to include hundreds of thousands of entries. Thus this value is really a condensation in the most meaningful sense of all.