The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch, 1743-1933 [Paperback]

Amos Elon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2003

In this important work of historical restoration, Amos Elon shows how a persecuted clan of cattle dealers and wandering peddlers was transformed into a stunningly successful community of writers, philosophers, scientists, tycoons, and activists. In engaging, brilliantly etched portraits of Moses Mendelssohn, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Hannah Arendt, and many others, Elon traces how a small minority came to be perceived as a deadly threat
to German national integrity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brilliant, far-reaching, passionate. . .sweeping and marvelously detailed. . .finely, intimately, movingly drawn. . . a book for the ages." --The New York Times

"[Elon] is a master of the telling anecdote. . ..One should be grateful for what Elon has done." --Los Angeles Times

"A work packed with beautifully sketched portraits, and constructed with a practiced eye for memorable, well-executed anecdotes." --The New York Times Book Review

"Impressive. . .Could hardly be improved upon." --The New York Review of Books

"If there is one book Americans should read this winter, it is Amos Elon's The Pity of It All--a meticulous and wrenching history of a people in a place at a moment in time that bears urgently upon our own." --Joan Didion, author of Political Fictions

About the Author

Amos Elon is the author of eight widely praised books including Founder: A Portrait of the First Rothschild, and the New York Times bestseller Israelis: Founders and Sons. He was a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine and The New York Review of Books. He passed away in 2009.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Picador (December 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312422814
• ISBN-13: 978-0312422813
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > History > Europe > Germany

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elegant and engaging, January 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch, 1743-1933 (Paperback)

I am surprised to be the first reviewer of this book. Although the title may suggest that the book is narrow and scholarly, nothing could be further from the truth. By focusing on Germany in the Enlightment and modern periods, Elon has written a microcosm of the history of anti-Semitism and of Europe. Using well-known German Jews, like Heine, and lesser-known figures, Elon brings these 200 years of history to life. He is historically scrupulous, but writes with the ease of a novelist. It's a good read that's good for you.

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN OUTSTANDING WORK OF UNIVERSAL SCOPE, November 20, 2005

By 

Alexander Lerman (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch, 1743-1933 (Paperback)

This is one of the finest works of history, in any subject, I have ever read.

Elon transcends "Jewish History" to write a book that is indeed about Jews in Europe - and is thus about Europe, European civilization, and the enlightenment in general. Prior to reading this work, I had no idea of the significance of Napoleon to the Jewish people, nor the horrific conditions under which most Jews lived. The heavy representation of Jews among progressive reformers and visionary intellectuals reflects the yearnings of the elite of an opressed and ostrasized class - and their vital contribution. Anti-semitism co-mingled with economic and political reactionary views in response to both Jewisch emancipation, and social, cultural and political progressive movements in Europe - culminating in the madness and obscenity of the holocaust. Elon traces with regret the degree that Hitler confirmed and gave strength to Jewish sepratists, who viewed the assimilationist and universalist yearnings of generations of European Jews as racial and religious treason.

Elon is a masterful yet unobtrusive historian. Reading his book is like spending a term with a great professor, under whose tutalage the world becomes larger, sadder, and more deeply intelligible. Elon's work itself stands as a statement that the Holocaust and the Nazi movement did not destroy humanity's progressive vision

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb, sad, brilliant book, September 9, 2005

By 

Alvin Rosenfeld "Alvin Rosenfeld, MD, co-auth... (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch, 1743-1933 (Paperback)

Amos Elon's book is a masterpiece. I read it cover to cover and could not put it down. Filled with crucial historical data and drawn from a wide variety of sources, it is engrossing while being perhaps the saddest book I ever read. Elon captures the poignancy of the German Jews wish to be true parts of Germany, their heartfelt efforts. Yet throughout, despite the times when it feels like they are on the threshhold of acceptance, you know the end of the story and sense its tragic inevitability.

Alvin Rosenfeld, MD, co-author with Bruno Bettelheim, The Art of the Obvious.