This fascinating book vividly portrays the wandering Jew as a very real character in the great drama of history. In nineteen engaging narratives; some twelve centuries old; travelling Jewish scholars; merchants; pilgrims; ambassadors; and others are revealed to be men of many moods and missions. In these pages you will meet:Isaac; an interpreter in the service of the Emperor Charlemagne; who in the year 802 escorted an elephant named Abulabaz; a gift to the Emperor from the caliph Harun ar-Rashid; over the Alps to the Emperor's court.Eldad the Danite; who lived on the Gulf of Aden and in the late ninth century was shipwrecked and seized by cannibals; though he lived to tell the tale.Benjamin of Tudela; the great Hebrew satirical poet of the thirteenth century; whose masterpiece; the Tachkemoni; is filled with clever; sometimes bitter jibes at the notables encountered in his many travels.Elijah of Ferrara; who describes fifteenth-century life in Jerusalem and tells of the plague in Egypt and Palestine that carried away his sons and grandson.Rich in human experience and historic detail; their accounts and 14 more revealing narratives offer rare perspectives on the unfolding drama of life in Europe; the Near East; and North Africa in the Middle Ages. This is a volume that will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers; from those interested in travel and adventure to those interested in cultural history and Judaica.
#1843766 in Books William B Breuer 1996-04-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.54 x .99 x 6.38l; 1.30 #File Name: 047114438X260 pagesISBN13: 9780471144380Condition: NewNotes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Review
5 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Is it the truth? Who knows...By J. ChangSpecial oeprations in the Korean War is a new/interesting subject for me. I've read quite a bit about Vietnam and post-Vietnam special ops stuff but this was my first text on the Korean War. Unfortunately; even if what is contained in this text is true...I have serious reservations about this text. This book is written with such a slant that it almost sounds like early 80's anti-communist propaganda!!!For one thing; it constantly uses racial slurs to make the North Koreans; Chinese; Russians and the Japanese(?) sound like monsters or sub-human. It continues to wave flags about how great the Western "democratic" forces were and how evil the Communists were. Now I'm not making a judgement call here; but I think I can make up my own mind if facts are presented as objectively as possible...I'm not 2 years old and have to be told what is good or evil.If that's not enough for you; the language used to describe operations is repetitive and dull.I now see why this is "bargain price" book. Find something else. You'll thank me later.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Special Operations during the Korean ConflictBy Matthew BrennanI knew very little about the subject of special operations in Korea. This book held much new information for me. It begins with the story of a deep-behind-the-lines assassination of an NKPA general and gallops on from there. Easily readable and well organized; including footnotes and a handy index. This is a valuable piece of history.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good start into learning about the Korean WarBy E. MeehanI found this book to be a pleasant; easy read on a subject that is hardly covered in school. The language was short and sweet; chapters were a breeze to get through; and I feel like I learned something about a subject I am just starting to get into. If you look through your options on books for the Korean War; there are a plethora of biblical sized texts; which just wasn't going to do it for me.The most obnoxious part of this book was the way this author made such a big deal about certain folks (mainly British communist spies) as being homosexual. I understand that in the 1950's being homosexual was considered a mental illness by most people; but the author just seemed to go on and on about these particular people's sexuality; and their traipsing around with men. Enough already.Plus; he completely glosses over the fact that when GI's get R R they frequent prostitutes in Japan; stating something like "many attractive young women were thrilled to have fun with the American soldiers"--har har. You're not fooling me!Overall; however; I enjoyed it as a nice quick read about a very important time in history.
