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    Who Knew?: Unusual Stories in Jewish History
    Unavailable
    Who Knew?: Unusual Stories in Jewish History
    Unavailable
    Who Knew?: Unusual Stories in Jewish History
    Ebook417 pages4 hours

    Who Knew?: Unusual Stories in Jewish History

    By Jack Cooper

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Did you know that the great Jewish sage and physician Maimonides practiced medicine while lying flat on his back? That a famous passage penned by George Washington was actually the work of a rabbi? That a Jewish athlete represented Nazi Germany in its infamous 1936 Olympic Games? That Yasser Arafat was made by the KGB? These and many more such intriguing stories make up Jack Cooper's fascinating collection of historical windows on the life of the Jews. Covering biblical times through to today, these unusual vignettes on the sidelines of history come together to form a story that is anything but a sideline, depicting a resourceful people who have survived and thrived despite the worst history has thrown at them. Whether you read it straight through, or pick out individual stories to read as the mood strikes, you're in for a captivating read!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGefen Publishing House
    Release dateMay 30, 2010
    ISBN9789652293718
    Unavailable
    Who Knew?: Unusual Stories in Jewish History

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    Reviews for Who Knew?

    3.5/5

    17 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This is a collection of unusual facts about Jewish history collected from a very wide range of sources. The items range from the amusing (A Chinese shopkeeper priced his goods in Hebrew) to appalling (A Jewish Holocaust survivor planned to flood 5 German cities with poison gas). Many are the kind of harmless boosterism most ethnic groups engage in -- Joseph Seligman's sale of Union war bonds was more important than Gettysburg etc. A few are inaccurate --a list of "Pentateuchal" names includes Esther, Jonathan and Daniel, all in Biblical books later than the Pentateuch. Some may be a matter of interpretation. The Knights of Malta are called pirates and so is an American privateer in the Revolution, neither of which I would call a pirates in the sense of indiscriminate plunderers of ships of all nations. Some recent ones may be controversial, especially when dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict --several rely on From Time Immemorial, a strongly pro-Israeli interpretation of the relations of Jewish settlers with the local Arabs, which I have seen criticized elsewhere for serious bias. Overall, they are a mixed bag, though there are enough interesting items for the book to be worth dipping into.
    • 3/5
      Cooper has compiled a multitude of brief sketches (almost all are one page or less) on various pieces of historical trivia and/or sidelights with the central theme of all things Jewish. Some of these short bits are really interesting and all are little-known. The writing style is straightforward, in a journalistic style.There is an uneven quality to the pieces included here. Most are impersonal statements of fact, but a few here and there show a distinct bias. An example of this would be "...a Jewish family's good deeds were as important as Gettysburg." The Seligmans' history is an important part of American history, but I think the author overstated matters a bit.This book wasn't quite what I was expecting. It's best enjoyed, I think, in small doses, like any anthology of "little-known facts".
    • 5/5
      Mr. Cooper offers us a series of short biographical and historical facts in world history and are interesting reading. Of course as the full title states most stories deal with the pivotal role played by Jewish people in these pivotal times in history These vignettes, most less than a page in length, cover a wide spectrum of history and are divided by time and region into six sections: Near East: Early Times; Western Europe: Trying to Fit In; Central Europe and The East: The Unwanted Diaspora; Holocaust: Perpetrators, Bystanders, Rescuers; America: Finding a Home and Contributing; and Israel: Building and Defending a Nation. These stories contain many facts and anecdotes that cover the spectrum of the importance but will leave you with a better understanding of the Jewish story.
    • 3/5
      This may be the ultimate Jewish “bathroom” book – an entertaining collection of short vignettes - most under one page - containing all sorts of interesting facts from Jewish history.Stories are divided into six categories: Near East: Early Times; Western Europe: Trying to Fit In; Central Europe and The East: The Unwanted Diaspora; Holocaust: Perpetrators, Bystanders, Rescuers; America: Finding a Home and Contributing; and Israel: Building and Defending a Nation.The stories are well characterized by their titles, which are all given at the beginning of the book, so that the list functions as both a table of contents and an index. Examples include: “A Biblical Mistranslation Gave Horns to Jews;” A French King Expelled the Jews – And Then Wanted Them Back;” “Jewish Monehy Helped Finance the Crusades;” “Rasputin Had a Jewish Business Manager;” “Non-Jewish GIs (in World War II) Attended Yom Kippur Services;” “Roosevelt’s Opponents Called the New Deal ‘The Jew Deal’;” and “Israelis Look Like Norwegians.”Many of these stories I knew, but many I hadn’t heard. After reading a bit, one can’t help, it seems, running to one’s friend, partner, or spouse, and saying “Hey! Did you know this?!!!” It’s a fun book, and the stories are footnoted for those of you into fact-checking. If you need good anecdotes to help you make conversation, or satisfy the need of a reading lagniappe, this book fills the bill.
    • 3/5
      “Who Knew?!” is a collection of about 200 short stories, most less than a page long, that are defined as “unusual stories in Jewish history”. As the back cover of the book says, this collection of facts and anecdotes are “the pepper and spice that enliven the story of history”.Who Knew The stories are divided into six categories: Early Times, Western Europe, Central/Eastern Europe, Holocaust, America and Israel. They range from the mundane, factual kind to the truly bizarre kind. An example of the former is the well-known story about Moses’ horns in the statue by Michelangelo, a result of a mistranslation of the Hebrew workd karan in the Bible (p. 3). An example of the latter is the story about the 19th century Jewish woman who registered as a prostitute in order to attend university in St. Petersburg (p. 88).Most stories lie somewhere in the middle by pointing out facts that, whilst not well-known, are not that surprising to read about. Many deal with the pivotal role played by Jewish people in certain historic occasions, although I felt that in certain cases the fact that the person was Jewish had little or no bearing on the historic significance of the story.This is the kind of book that is best read over time – a story here, a story there – rather than front to back. When read in continuum, it is more difficult to appreciate each individual story.
    • 5/5
      Jack Cooper’s “Who Knew? Unusual Stories in Jewish History” really lives up to its name. From the first story regarding a mistranslation of the Bible (“horned” rather than “beaming”) to stories from Israel in the 1970s, this book will certainly provide you will hours of entertainment. Although the individual stories aren’t very long, only around a page or so, they are fully referenced so that the reader could learn more if they wished.There were some fascinating stories in this book, my favourite was about a Jewish girl who received a work permit as prostitute and she was really trying to finish her education. She was kicked out of the city because she wasn’t really working as a prostitute!I think anyone with an interest in Jewish history would love this book.