Yiddishland [Hardcover]

Gerard Silvain (Author), Henri Minczeles (Author), Donna Wiemann (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

This unique book is an unforgettable journey into the heart of Yiddishland, a mythical and real land that has never appeared on a map of the world, but whose frontiers have forged rivers, crossed oceans and spanned continents. Although, tragically, it no longer exists, Yiddishland - a huge area that stretched from Poland to the Ukraine, Belorussia, Romania, Bessarabia, Eastern Hungary and the Baltic States - lives on through the telling imagery of the humble postcard.

Gleaned from the millions preserved in attics, trunks and Jewish family archives all over the world, this remarkable collection brings to life the immutable rhythm of the shtetl. The pages are alive with rabbis, professional marriage brokers, itinerant water carriers, bright-eyed yeshivot students, porters, beggars and brilliant intellectuals, plus synagogues, hospitals, cemeteries and those sadly unavoidable scenes of suffering and persecution. The humble trades that kept entire populations from starving to death are shown in minute detail.

Poignant, touching, and alarming these fleeting moments, frozen in time, portray a civilization which might otherwise have been forgotten. They enable us to relive the past, incite us to remember and record for eternity the history and the legend that is Yiddishland.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 587 pages
• Publisher: Gingko Press; First U.S. Edition edition (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584230185
• ISBN-13: 978-1584230182
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #678,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loving trip to Yiddishland, Wish You Were Here, November 26, 1999

By 

Larry Mark, editor of MyJewishBooks.com (Scranton, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yiddishland (Hardcover)

This is a great idea for a book and a great gift. For some months, I have trolled through ebay and Amazon auctions, clicking on but never buying copies of old standard and Jewish postcards. The co-author of this book has one of the largest archives of Jewish postcards and images, and he has compiled them into this amazing collection of old Shtetl and Jewish life postcards. They provide the reader with an glimpse of what the Yiddish world was like and what images people wanted to retain. In the words of Gerard Silvain, "Collecting of postcards has become the second largest type of collection in the world...More moving than any other type of collection for the Jew in search of his roots, the postcard collection is still little known by the general public.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book of Ravishing Beauty, May 7, 2003

By 

Barbara Cohen (CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yiddishland (Hardcover)

This extraordinary book describes that place known as Yiddishland through a f a collection of postcards from many geographical and cultural corners of the world. Whether Yiddishland is real or mythical is unimportant: what is significant is that these photographs depict a place which no longer exists, but which was held together by the common thread of the Yiddish language. Each photograph is more stunning than the next with a never before seen images of the people, places and things that make up the Yiddish culture. Tears actually welled up when looking at some of these photos as I realized that this beautiful place from our pasts exists no more except here in these pages. This is a book is a great gift idea, and a must for anyone interested in photography, Yiddish culture or just plan beauty. I am so very happy that someone had the skill and courage to undergo this amazing project which speaks like a sparkling work of art.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A marvelous book, November 4, 2009

By 

C. Shepko "doting grandma" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Yiddishland (Hardcover)

I finally found this book at a reasonable price from this seller. It is an excellent book--a visual record of lost people. Delivery was prompt and the book was in the condition described. I would be happy to buy from this dealer again.