Mark Twain's Jews [Hardcover]

Dan Vogel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Vogel writes in his introduction that Mark Twain mentioned Jews many times in notebook entries and autobiographical recollections, in newspaper articles and personal letters, and in sketches and essays. He points out that Twain's readers did not react to the intermittent references to Jews before the publication of Concerning the Jews, his major statement about anti-Semitism, in 1899. That essay has become the subject of controversy. Some readers and scholars believe that Twain was guilty of anti-Semitism, but Vogel believes that Twain deserves a more thorough investigation and judgment concerning his perception of Jews. Vogel concludes that in Twain's early remarks there is no motivation to do any harm to any Jews, Jewish community, or the race at large; "on the contrary, there is evidence that he abhorred such an attitude." He defines Twain's attitude as "innocent anti-Semitic discourse and innocently misplaced humor." Vogel believes that Twain's admiration for the Jewish people is clear; their history is to Twain amazing and unique. Vogel's documentation and analysis of the subject are absorbing. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 146 pages
• Publisher: Ktav Pub Inc (May 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881259160
• ISBN-13: 978-0881259162
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,097,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ridiculous book for ethnic narcissists, January 17, 2008

By 

J. Michael (Now Born) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mark Twain's Jews (Hardcover)

How self-absorbed, arrogant and censorious do a people have to be to justify a book of this nature? What kind of man would spend his time combing through every word an author had written to discover every last tiny example of when he wasn't properly worshipful of the Jews? Before World War II, the vast majority of Western man held some fairly common beliefs about Jews and, unlike today, had no fear of social extermination if he expressed them. Mark Twain was raised with those ideas, and some very minor examples may have found their way into his works, but he turned out to be pretty much a liberal philo-semite very early on. Mr. Vogel turns over and parses every single reference to Jews in Mark Twain's work, to the ridiculous extreme of criticizing Twain for giving a Jewish character the stereotypical and "coldly, depersonalized" name of Isaac. Someone should warn Jewish parents who are thinking of naming their sons Isaac that Mr. Vogel may accuse them of anti-Semitism! Maybe they should choose "Leroy" or "Patrick" instead!

Who really cares if Mark Twain (or Shakespeare or Wagner or Dickens) had a negative Jewish character in an early work or didn't completely toe the party line of the modern-day ADL? He was a writer whose works are of great artistic value and humane sentiment. This book is a silly waste of time for ethnic narcissists whose view of humanity doesn't extend beyond their noses.

4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A seminal and informative study investigating the anti-Semitism of the famous and influential American author, June 4, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mark Twain's Jews (Hardcover)

Mark Twain's Jews by Dan Vogel (Professor of English at Yeshiva University and Dean of Stern College for Women) is a seminal and informative study investigating the anti-Semitism of the famous and influential American author and public speaker Mark Twain (1835-1910). Carrying readers through an in-depth analysis concerning the anti-Semitic content of Twain's personal letters, newspaper articles, essays, lectures and sketches reflecting the Jewish religion collectively, Mark Twain's Jews knowledgeably reveals a logical justification of Twain's intentions and beliefs as reflected in his particular writings. An impressive work of original scholarship, Mark Twain's Jews is very strongly recommended reading for students of the life and thought of Mark Twain, as well as a supplemental addition to American History reference collections with respect to anti-Semitism of the 19th and 20th centuries.