Description
Book SynopsisExamines the nature of autobiographical writing by Jews and the ways in which such writings can legitimately be used as sources for Jewish history. These writers' attempts to portray their private and public struggles, anxieties, successes, and failures are expressions of a basic drive for selfhood which is both timeless and time-bound.
Trade Review"This slim, brilliant book has yielded a series of cutting edge works by some of the leading scholars in Jewish Studies. . . . A provocative tour de force."
* Slavic Review *
"A remarkable, rewarding study . . . Stanislawski presents each of the life stories within the context of social and cultural history, and in so doing displays his erudition and knowledge. This is a challenging, intellectually stimulating work."
* Choice *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction: Autobiography, the Jews, and Episodic Memory
1. Josephus's Life
2. In the Culture of the Rabbis: Asher of Reichshofen and Glikl of Hameln
3. Two Russian Jews: Moshe Lieb Lelienblum and Osip Mandelstam
4. Autobiography as Farewell I: Stefan Zweig
5. Autobiography as Farewell II: Sarah Kofman
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
