Theodor Herzl: From Assimilation to Zionism (Jewish Literature and Culture) [Hardcover]

Jacques Kornberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 22, 1993 | Series: Jewish Literature and Culture

"An original and brilliant thesis, exposing a long misunderstood figure. A great book." —Bernard Avishai

"Excellent... a highly revealing portrait that demolishes Herzl-the-icon." —Michael Marrus

"Other biographers... have illuminated aspects of [Herzl's] life, but none has been able to produce the kind of intellectual biography that we have here. Jacques Kornberg has done an admirable job of plumbing the depths of Herzl's mind to try to come to an understanding of just why he became a Zionist and why he was literally consumed with promoting Zionist goals." —Cithara

"With compassion and critical balance, placing his subject well within his Austrian milieu, Kornberg analyzes Herzl's rhetoric, tergiversations, and profound ambivalence over his politics and identity." —Choice

"... a masterful display of the sources... " —American Historical Review

"... stimulating, provocative and agreeably iconoclastic... powerful and compelling." —German History

A novel and provocative explanation of Theodor Herzl's founding of Zionism as a way of resolving his personal crisis over his Jewish identity.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In 1899, Herzl claimed that he became a Zionist under the influence of the Dreyfus trial, which he witnessed as a journalist. This revealing volume, which covers Herzl's life from 1878 to 1896, demolishes that claim, arguing that "mounting political anti-Semitism, chiefly in his Austrian homeland, intensified a longstanding inner conflict in Herzl, at the heart of which was his ambivalence over his Jewishness." Kornberg (history, Univ. of Toronto) offers an illuminating portrait of Herzl as a young German nationalist and shows how this youthful experience influenced his Zionism. But he pays scant attention to the significance of Herzl's first 18 years in Budapest, analyzed in Andrew Handler's Dori (Univ. of Alabama Pr., 1983); overlooks evidence contrary to his arguments; and exaggerates his disagreements with recent scholars, on whose work he actually builds. For academic libraries.
- Jonathan D. Sarna, Brandeis Univ., Waltham, Mass.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"An original and brilliant thesis, exposing a long misunderstood figure. A great book." Bernard Avishai "Excellent ... a highly revealing portrait that demolishes Herzl-the-icon." Michael Marrus "Other biographers ... have illuminated aspects of [Herzl's] life, but none has been able to produce the kind of intellectual biography that we have here. Jacques Kornberg has done an admirable job of plumbing the depths of Herzl's mind to try to come to an understanding of just why he became a Zionist and why he was literally consumed with promoting Zionist goals." Cithara "With compassion and critical balance, placing his subject well within his Austrian milieu, Kornberg analyzes Herzl's rhetoric, tergiversations, and profound ambivalence over his politics and identity." Choice " ... a masterful display of the sources ... "American Historical Review " ... stimulating, provocative and agreeably iconoclastic ... powerful and compelling." German History

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; 1st edition (November 22, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253332036
• ISBN-13: 978-0253332035
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #562,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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