The author's notion was to plumb the incredibly rich remains of English literary and journalistic history from that heady era to set anti-Jewish prejudice in its real setting within the context of English social and political history.?This is a wonderful achievement and [the] book deserves to be read by any and all who are interested in the history of the ... Read moreJews as real Jewish people actually lived it in a given time and place.
Conservative Judaism
...continues the careful reasoning and insightful analysis which Bernard Glassman first brought to the study of anti-semitism in Anti-Semitic Stereotypes Without Jews. This study of anti-semitism in England's Age of Reason provides incisive readings ofsome standard texts, and introduces us to some new and surprising historical and literary sources. This is important reading for anyone interested in the history of anti-semitism or in the created perceptions of any marginalized group.
Thomas L. Amos, Waldo Library, Western Michigan University "This study of anti-Jewish prejudice in eighteenth-century England explores the factors leading to the absence of mob violence against Jews in this period. Glassman contests the conventional wisdom that attributes the improvement to the enlightened and tolerant attitudes engendered by the rise of a secular outlook. He shows that virulent anti-Jewish prejudice remained common in this period, but argues that it must be viewed in the context of other racial and religious prejudices, such as those against blacks, Gypsies and Quakers. Bigotry, he suggests, is rooted in the need for a scapegoat and is likely to shift its form like the mythical Proteus."
Jewish Book World
The author's notion was to plumb the incredibly rich remains of English literary and journalistic history from that heady era to set anti-Jewish prejudice in its real setting within the context of English social and political history.…This is a wonderful achievement and [the] book deserves to be read by any and all who are interested in the history of the Jews as real Jewish people actually lived it in a given time and place.
Conservative Judaism
...continues the careful reasoning and insightful analysis which Bernard Glassman first brought to the study of anti-semitism in Anti-Semitic Stereotypes Without Jews. This study of anti-semitism in England's Age of Reason provides incisive readings of some standard texts, and introduces us to some new and surprising historical and literary sources. This is important reading for anyone interested in the history of anti-semitism or in the created perceptions of any marginalized group.
Thomas L. Amos, Waldo Library, Western Michigan University Show Less