Derek Penslar's Books

Theodor Herzl

The Charismatic Leader

By: Derek Penslar

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From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a masterful new biography of Theodor Herzl by an eminent historian of Zionism The life of Theodor Herzl (1860–1904) was as puzzling as it was brief. How did this cosmopolitan and assimilated European Jew become the leader of the Zionist movement? How could he be both an artist and a statesman, a rationalist and an aesthete, a stern moralist yet possessed of deep, and at times dark, passions? And why did scores of thousands of Jews, many of them from traditional, observant backgrounds, embrace Herzl as their leader? Drawing on a vast body of Herzl’s personal, literary, and political writings, historian Derek Penslar shows that Herzl’s path to Zionism had as much to do with personal crises as it did with antisemitism. Once Herzl devoted himself to Zionism, Penslar shows, he distinguished himself as a consummate leader—possessed of indefatigable energy, organizational ability, and electrifying charisma. Herzl became a screen onto which Jews of his era could project their deepest needs and longings. About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award. More praise for Jewish Lives: “Excellent.” – New York times “Exemplary.” – Wall St. Journal “Distinguished.” – New Yorker “Superb.” – The Guardian

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Page Count

253

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300182503

ISBN 13

9780300182507

Shylock's Children

Economics and Jewish Identity in Modern Europe

By: Derek Jonathan Penslar

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Shylock's Children

Economics and Jewish Identity in Modern Europe

By: Derek Jonathan Penslar

Throughout much of European history, Jews have been strongly associated with commerce and the money trade, rendered both visible and vulnerable, like Shakespeare's Shylock, by their economic distinctiveness. Shylock's Children tells the story of Jewish perceptions of this economic difference and its effects on modern Jewish identity. Derek Penslar explains how Jews in modern Europe developed the notion of a distinct "Jewish economic man," an image that grew ever more complex and nuanced between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries.

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Page Count

582

Publisher

Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

052092584X

ISBN 13

9780520925847

Jews and the Military

A History

By: Derek J. Penslar

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Jews and the Military

A History

By: Derek J. Penslar

A historical reevaluation of the relationship between Jews, miltary service, and war Jews and the Military is the first comprehensive and comparative look at Jews' involvement in the military and their attitudes toward war from the 1600s until the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Derek Penslar shows that although Jews have often been described as people who shun the army, in fact they have frequently been willing, even eager, to do military service, and only a minuscule minority have been pacifists. Penslar demonstrates that Israel's military ethos did not emerge from a vacuum and that long before the state's establishment, Jews had a vested interest in military affairs. Spanning Europe, North America, and the Middle East, Penslar discusses the myths and realities of Jewish draft dodging, how Jews reacted to facing their coreligionists in battle, the careers of Jewish officers and their reception in the Jewish community, the effects of World War I on Jewish veterans, and Jewish participation in the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Penslar culminates with a study of Israel's War of Independence as a Jewish world war, which drew on the military expertise and financial support of a mobilized, global Jewish community. He considers how military service was a central issue in debates about Jewish emancipation and a primary indicator of the position of Jews in any given society. Deconstructing old stereotypes, Jews and the Military radically transforms our understanding of Jews' historic relationship to war and military power.

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Page Count

374

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0691168091

ISBN 13

9780691168098

Zionism and Technocracy

The Engineering of Jewish Settlement in Palestine, 1870-1918

By: Derek Jonathan Penslar

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Zionism and Technocracy

The Engineering of Jewish Settlement in Palestine, 1870-1918

By: Derek Jonathan Penslar

Zionism and Technocracy is important reading for anyone seriously interested in the development of the Yishuv during the last decades of Ottoman rule."--Choice "... stimulating and well written... " --Shofar "A pioneering work on the most important aspect of early Zionist history, well researched, well written, highly to be recommended." --Walter Laqueur "Taut and well-written with a fresh approach, Penslar's painstakingly researched study fills an important gap in the literature on the early Yishuv." --The Jerusalem Post Magazine "Penslar has written one of the first 'social histories' of an important aspect of Zionism." --David Sorkin "... Penslar presents an alternative perspective of those early days of Jewish settlement. Instead of a tale of individuals and their efforts, it is history of the organizational efforts to develop the institutions needed to reestablish the Jewish presence on the land." --Midstream The creation of a Jewish homeland in modern Palestine represented a monumental technical achievement. This achievement, and the story of the Jewish technocrats from Central Europe who engineered it, is documented here for the first time--bringing together social, intellectual, and institutional history in a pathbreaking study.

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Page Count

236

Publisher

Indiana University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0253342902

ISBN 13

9780253342904

Zionism and Technocracy

The Engineering of Jewish Settlement in Palestine, 1870-1918

By: Derek Jonathan Penslar

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Zionism and Technocracy

The Engineering of Jewish Settlement in Palestine, 1870-1918

By: Derek Jonathan Penslar

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236

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Indiana University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0253342902

ISBN 13

9780253342904

Theodor Herzl

The Charismatic Leader

By: Derek Penslar

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Theodor Herzl

The Charismatic Leader

By: Derek Penslar

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Page Count

253

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300182503

ISBN 13

9780300182507

Israel in History

The Jewish State in Comparative Perspective

By: Derek Penslar

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Israel in History

The Jewish State in Comparative Perspective

By: Derek Penslar

This collection of essays provide a comparative historical analysis of Israel's history. In particular they tackle the often contentious issues of the nature of Zionism, whether Israel is a colonial state, historiography and antisemitism as well social and cultural developments.

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Page Count

285

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1134146698

ISBN 13

9781134146697

Shylock's Children

Economics and Jewish Identity in Modern Europe

By: Derek Penslar,Anthony W. Lee

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Shylock's Children

Economics and Jewish Identity in Modern Europe

By: Derek Penslar,Anthony W. Lee

Shylock's children tells the story of Jewish perceptions of this economic difference and of its effects on modern Jewish identity in Europe.

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Page Count

389

Publisher

Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520225902

ISBN 13

9780520225909

Jews and the Military

A History

By: Derek J. Penslar

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Jews and the Military

A History

By: Derek J. Penslar

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374

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0691168091

ISBN 13

9780691168098

Israel in History

The Jewish State in Comparative Perspective

By: Derek Penslar

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Israel in History

The Jewish State in Comparative Perspective

By: Derek Penslar

Covering topical issues concerning the nature of the Israeli state, this engaging work presents essays that combine a variety of comparative schemes, both internal to Jewish civilization and extending throughout the world, such as: modern Jewish society, politics and culture historical consciousness in the twentieth century colonialism, anti-colonialism and postcolonial state-building. With its open-ended, comparative approach, Israel in History provides a useful means of correcting the biases found in so much scholarship on Israel, be it sympathetic or hostile. This book will appeal to scholars and students with research interests in many fields, including Israeli Studies, Middle East Studies, and Jewish Studies.

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Page Count

539

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

113414668X

ISBN 13

9781134146680

Book's by Derek Penslar

Theodor Herzl

Theodor Herzl

Shylock's Children

Shylock's Children

Jews and the Military

Jews and the Military

Zionism and Technocracy

Zionism and Technocracy

Zionism and Technocracy

Zionism and Technocracy

Theodor Herzl

Theodor Herzl

Israel in History

Israel in History

Shylock's Children

Shylock's Children

Jews and the Military

Jews and the Military

Israel in History

Israel in History

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