The Jewish Mystique [Hardcover]

Ernest Van Den Haag (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: Stein & Day Pub (April 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812812670
• ISBN-13: 978-0812812671
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #443,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Review of The Jewish Mystique, June 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Jewish Mystique (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book, mostly because of the fascinating subject matter. Especially chillling were the last two chapters where the author tries to prophesize about the state of american judaism in the year 2000. we are left to judge for oursleves whether he was right or wrong. I reccomend it!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, October 25, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: The Jewish Mystique (Hardcover)

This is an insightful work about Jewish history and character by a non- Jewish author. Van den Haag like Paul Johnson and Thomas Cahill later writes from outside the Jewish experience with real appreciation and understanding. Having read the book many years ago I will simply give one small insight of his. According to Van den Haag the intelligence involved in disproprotionate Jewish contribution to scientific and cultural creation came in part because among the Jews the most intelligent the learned were encouraged to have large families, while in the Christian world the most intelligent were priests and encouraged to be celibate. A counter- argument could be made pointing out the relatively small size of the families of the non- Hasidic Jewish leadership. In any case this is one small example of a book rich with insight and certainly worth reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars REPLACING AN OLD FAVORITE, March 13, 2010

By 

Paula Crandall - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jewish Mystique (Paperback)

FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN JEWISH CULTURE AND THE ROLE "THE CHOSEN PEOPLE" HAVE PLAYED IN WORLD HISTORY, THIS LITERATE, WRY AND AMUSING OVERVIEW IS FASCINATING. I FIRST READ IT IN THE '60'S AFTER HAVING MOVED INTO A PREDOMINATELY JEWISH COMMUNITY AND WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY NEIGHBORS. THIS WAS THE PERFECT CHOICE AND ITS AUTHOR WAS A PROFESSOR IN NEW YORK CITY NEAR MY HOME. I TRACKED HIM DOWN AND TOLD HIM HOW MUCH I HAD ENJOYED IT AND WE HAD A DELIGHTFUL CONVERSATION THAT ENRICHED WHAT I'D ALREADY LEARNED. IT'S A BOOK OF ITS TIME IN SOME WAYS, BUT, SINCE IT CHRONICLES THE PAST AND PRESENT OF OVER 5,000 YEARS, THAT'S JUST AN INTERESTING FOOTNOTE. THIS COPY REPLACES ONE THAT GOT LOST IN A SUBSEQUENT MOVE.