The Jews of Eastern Europe, 1772-1881

"The book represents a remarkable achievement. Bartal presents the broad contours of nineteenth-century East European Jewish history even as he reworks them into a nontraditional narrative. He offers readers basic information about the staple features of the East European Jewish story-including the Hasidic and haskalah movements, the struggle for emancipation in two empires, the shtetl, population growth, urbanization, emigration, the crystallization of orthodox Judaism, and the rise of Jewish nationalism-while at the same time challenging us to think about the significance of those features in unconventional ways."—David Engel, New York University

"Bartal synthesizes a crucial period and revises the traditional understanding of key events. In fact, he alters in a substantial way the 'master narrative' of modern Jewish history."—Gershon Hundert, McGill University

"Bartal offers basic material about East European life. . . . The Jews of Eastern Europe, 1772-1881 is recommended for all Judaica libraries and libraries housing works on Jewish history."—AJL Newsletter