|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent mixture of history and travelogue., April 4, 2000
By A Customer
Jewish Time Travel is a wonderful and unexpected combination of chatty travel narrative and serious scholarship. Mae Sander's first book gives us a window into Jewish life in four periods and places where cultures collided, and takes us to revisit those places with her today. In Israel, France, Spain, and Italy, we learn details of the past that are usually available only to those who are willing to spend hours in graduate libraries. But the author distills this material for us, and her book is a pleasure to read and re-read. We are transported to ancient Israel, where Herod , doomed to madness, tries to please both his Roman overlords and his Jewish subjects. The tenuous peace unravels after his death, and the dispersion of the Jews begins anew under Roman rule. Jewish Time Travel takes us to many places in today's Israel where there are echoes of this cultural crossroads. A true historian, Mae Sander relates the stories told by 20th century guides and archeologists, but also shows us the political climate in which they work. Following the travels of medieval merchant Benjamin of Tudela, we get a glimpse of daily life in the south of France during a period that is almost never covered in history books. We journey to Spain, in the years just before and during the expulsion of the Jews. And we travel to the Jewish ghetto in Venice, where a famous Jewish printer plies his trade. Each time, we accompany Mae as she visits these places centuries later. We are left with a sense of sorrow for what is lost, interest in what is preserved, and awe that Jewish culture could have survived at all. Best of all, Mae Sander's fresh voice and comfortable style give us the benefit of years of scholarly research without the struggle. Whether you are an intrepid voyager or an armchair traveler, you'll find Jewish Time Travel a fascinating and indispensable volume.
|
