Jewish Budapest : Monuments, Rites, History

Book Description

As a painting by Chagall unfolds layer upon layer when viewed carefully, so does the city in Jewish Budapest. Neither a guidebook or a history in the traditional sense, this book is about the Jewish face of Budapest from medieval times to the present. To get the broadest possible perspective, this book is not only about the Hungarian capital as a Jewish city but, as befits a cosmopolitan metropolis, delves into its myriad elements. There was and is, as Jewish Budapest strikingly reveals, a Roman and a Greek - Catholic Budapest, a Lutheran and a Calvinist Budapest, a German, a Serbian and a Gypsy Budapest. All these are brought into play as backdrop to the main narrative about the history of Jews in Buda, Obuda, and Pest. Past and present Jewish life as an organic part of the life of the Hungarian capital Budapest - be it memory or living reality.

Richly illustrated with wonderfully evocative literary line drawings and photos, the book includes a lavish, full-colour section of artwork that enhances the text. Here is a book at once personal and universal. It is about everyday Jewish life, the humor, the pathos, the human condition, which is the same or very similar anywhere in the Diaspora. Every image and incident, every happening is filtered through the strong sensibilities of the key citizens of the city throughout the past few centuries. Remarkable citizens personified by the likes of Theodor Herzl and Joseph Pulitzer.

The city is itself the central character of this book. The authors write only about those parts where there is a story to tell. They talk about places where history is still visible, where it can be located, where its traces still exist, where it can be tasted, savoured, and where it surrounds us as part of life in Budapest today.

Jewish Budapest amasses huge amounts of lore about the city, its monuments and relics, its language and scholarship, its cultural heart, and its intellectual core. Jewish Budapest proceeds according to the chronological sequence of the birth of the Jewish quarters in the city, focusing on patterns of settlement and occupation, and demography, and unfolds finally into a vision of the future of Jewish life in this remarkably vibrant, venerable city.

The book includes a section of detailed comments on the illustrations with an explanation of the abbreviations throughout as well as a bibliography, an index of personal names, an index of cities and towns, and an index of Budapest street addresses.

A Selection of the Jewish Book Club

Customer Reviews:

Breathing Life into Your Tour of Budapest.......2001-01-19

Budapest today bustles, driven by efforts to integrate the formely communist country into Nato and the European Union. The beautiful buildings, bridges and sites dating back to the Austo-Hungarian Empire of the 1800's surprise many tourists from the West. But without knowing the history of this city the tourist has only a fraction of the enjoyment. Jewish Budapest chronicals the long history of Jews in this part of Hungary, working their way from a marginal existance literally on the edge of town to an integral part of Budapest. From this community came Theodore Hertzel, a founder of the Zionist Movement to create a Jewish state in Israel. One of the leading Rabbi's of early Reform Judaism in America served as Rabbi at a Temple in Budapest before emigrating to the freedom of the United States. Although not emancipated until about the 1870's, Budapest's Jewish community achieved remarkable progress in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in this ethnically diverse city. Before World War II, Jews comprised around 25% of the Budapest population including leading industrialists, entertainers, businessmen, doctors, scholars, and civic leaders. Now there are only about 70,000 Jews left. The majestic Dohaney Street Temple, built to the dimensions of the Temple in Jerusalem, stands today as the largest temple in Europe, seating some 3,200 worshipers in a beautifuly restored sanctuary. Jewish Budapest tells about the Jewish community that built this and a number of other temples and synagoges. Architectual information is given about office buildings, schools, apartment building and more that still line Budapest streets. The author goes behind the brick and mortar to tell about the daily lives of the people who lived in the community and how they changed over the centuries. The author includes includes an account of the catastrophe that befell the Jewish community at the hands of various fascist groups during World War II and the heroic efforts of Christians like Raul Wallenberg that saved many thousand men, women and children from the Nazis. Jewish Budapest also describes much about Judaism as practiced in Europe, not just ritual, but also daily lives of the Jews and personalties and conflicts during the centuries within the community and with their neigbors. The religious information is basic enough so that it can be understood by people with little or no knowledge of Judaism and yet interesting for those well familiar with Jewish ritual and customs. I especially recommend this book to people going to Budapest, people who have visited the city, people with ties to Hungary and history buffs.

Customer Reviews:

A Harbinger of the New Institutionalism.......2005-06-08

I find it slightly incredible that a book of this caliber and renown remains basically unreviewed, in the sense that no previous reviewer has deigned to even touch upon Huntington's argument. They have chosen merely to register their opinions on his argument. But to someone who has not yet read the book, how could those opinions be of any guidance when the grounds for those opinions are not laid out? I write this review for those who believe that the integrity of an opinion depends upon the reasons given to support it.

I came to this book highly skeptical that I would learn anything important. In college, I read Huntington's The Third Wave, a text of canonical status in the field of democratization studies, which at the time nonetheless (or perhaps for that very reason) struck me as insipid. Here is not the place to discuss whether and how my views on that later book have changed. Suffice it to say that Political Order in Changing Societies surprised me pleasantly with its fresh insights, wide learning, and clarity of argument. Its reputation as one of most important books in political development is well-deserved.

If I were to describe this book in one sentence, I would say that it is Hobbesian in outlook and Hegelian in method. That the book is Hobbesian in outlook is indicated by the justly famous opening sentence: "The most important political distinction among countries concerns not their form of government but their degree of government." It is confirmed beyond doubt by Huntington's elaboration of that statement: "The function of government is to govern. A weak government, a government which lacks authority, fails to perform its function and is immoral in the same sense in which a corrupt judge, a cowardly soldier, or an ignorant teacher is immoral" (28). One might wish to count all the times Huntington uses "Hobbessian" as an adjective. To say that the book is Hegelian in method is to stress the movement of Huntington's argument. He is concerned primarily with political modernization or political development. That is to say, he is concerned primarily with transitions, whether from a traditional to modern polity, or from a praetorian to civic polity. The causes of those transitions are certain contradictions or tensions within the socio-political system. As Huntington will later suggest, this book highlights "developmental contradictions and crises," e.g., rapid political modernization coupled with slow political development, or the conflict b/t short-run and long-run interests (the "King's Dilemma" that he describes in ch.3 is a variation on this latter theme). One might wish to count all the times he uses the words "dialectic" or "dialectical."

For the student of contemporary political science, this book will be of interest in that it presages the currently fashionable interest in institutions. Political institutions are at the heart of this book. As Huntington tells us, "The primary thesis of this book is that [the violence and instability characteristic of the post-WWII era] was in large part the product of rapid social change and the rapid mobilization of new groups into politics coupled with the slow development of political institutions" (4). "The primary problem of politics is the lag in the development of political institutions behind social and economic change" (5).

I give this book four stars rather than five because in his later chapters, where he is elaborating upon the basic argument laid out in ch.1 and filling in details, he is not always convincing and he sometimes glides over tough problems. Also, some of his passing statements stand in considerable tension with his broader argument, e.g., his statement, "Institutionalization of power means the limitation of power" (238), and his general argument, "Authority has to exist before it can be limited" (8). Incidentally, this example should suffice to show that statements that seem plausible and even insightful when taken alone can nevertheless be highly misleading.

Still, this book was a pioneering work in its time and remains an excellent introduction to the primary issues of political development. One cannot say that it has yet been surpassed, and it therefore remains essential reading for political scientists.

Ahead of his times - even now.......2004-03-18

I read this book while I was in the university, and it still has things to say ten years later. I am an Asian, so I feel qualified to say that Huntington's ideas were not racist. If anything, he saw things very clearly. He has a good grasp of how politics work in non-western societies. He also clearly understood the needs of under developed Asian societies. He understood better than writers supposedly sympathetic to Asians (i.e. Naom Chomsky and his intellectual cronies)how political stability is the most important political issue of the day.

(Just a note on the Clash of Civilisation. It was widely mocked when it first came out in the early 1990's, but after 9/11 it was proved that what he wrote was right and - as usual - perscient.)

Huntington is old school.......2003-10-03

To be fair, Huntington is a great writer. However, some of his ideas border on racism. I would read Huntington to understand how people in the social sciences thought 50 years ago, but I wouldn't take his broad general truths too seriously.

30 years on.......1999-11-21

this is still Huntington's best work. The bredth of his erudition is astounding, the clarity of his analysis second to none. Too bad he had to soil his reputation with all that later nonsense about clashing civilizations.

Excellent.......1999-06-25

While not a scorching read, Political Order in Changing Societies is a must read for those looking to learn more about the corner stones of modern governments and the effects of changing societies on those political systems. It is an excellent tool for looking at the forces that shape the modern polity.

LAW AND ORDER IN A CHANGING SOCIETY. Papers prepared for a conference on law and order in Papua New Guinea, 17-18 October 1985, Dept. of Political and Social Change, Resource School of Pacific Studies, ANU.

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LAW AND ORDER IN A CHANGING SOCIETY. Papers prepared for a conference on law and order in Papua New Guinea, 17-18 October 1985, Dept. of Political and Social Change, Resource School of Pacific Studies, ANU.
Louise (Ed.) Morauta
Manufacturer: Dept. of Political and Social Change
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000W2KES4

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Political Order in Changing Societies
Samuel P. Huntington
Manufacturer: Yale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0300005849

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Political Order in Changing Societies
Samuel P. Huntington
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORQD64

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Political Order in Changing Societies
Samuel P.Huntington
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OC2JFI

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Political Order in Changing Societies
Huntington Samuel P
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LCCZ6E

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Political Order in Changing Societies
Samuel P. Huntington
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K8CR2Q

Wild Health: How Animals Keep Themselves Well and What We Can Learn From Them
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Wonderful Read: Healthy Living using "Nature's Pharmacy"

Excellent review

great book--fascinating

More than Common Sense

Interesting book for Wildlife's vets and animals lover!!

Wild Health: How Animals Keep Themselves Well and What We Can Learn From Them
Cindy Engel
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animals | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Wildlife | Animals | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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LifeFood Recipe Book: Living on Life Force

ASIN: 0618071784

Book Description

This is the first book on a fascinating new field in biology -- zoopharmacognosy, or animal self-medication -- and its lessons for humans. When Rachel Carson published SILENT SPRING, few people knew the meaning of the word "ecology." Even fewer people today probably know the meaning of "zoopharmacognosy." But that is about to change. In WILD HEALTH, Cindy Engel explores the extraordinary range of ways animals keep themselves healthy, carefully separating scientifically verifiable fact from folklore, hard data from daydreams. As with holistic medicine for humans, there turns out to be more fact in folklore than was previously thought.
How do animals keep themselves healthy? They eat plants that have medicinal properties. They select the right foods for a nutritionally balanced diet, often doing a better job of it than humans do. Animals even seek out psychoactive substances -- they get drunk on fermented fruit, hallucinate on mushrooms, become euphoric with opium poppies. They also manipulate their own reproduction with plant chemistry, using some plants as aphrodisiacs and others to enhance fertility. WILD HEALTH includes scores of remarkable examples of the ways animals medicate themselves.
- Desert tortoises will travel miles to mine and eat the calcium needed to keep their shells strong.
- Monkeys, bears, coatis, and other animals rub citrus oils and pungent resins into their coats as insecticides and antiseptics against insect bites.
- Chimpanzees swallow hairy leaves folded in a certain way to purge their digestive tracts of parasites.
- Birds line their nests with plants that protect their chicks from blood-draining mites and lice.
In other words, animals try to keep themselves healthy in many of the same ways humans do; in fact, much of early human medicine, including many practices being revived today as "alternative medicine," arose through observations of animals. And, as WILD HEALTH, animals still have a lot to teach us. We could use a little more wild health ourselves.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Read: Healthy Living using "Nature's Pharmacy" .......2007-06-09

Have you ever wondered what happens to a wild animal that breaks a leg? What does it do if it gets infested with parasite worms, or if there is are many infectious bugs around?

Read this book to find out.

The author takes a very scientific approach explaining how there are important differences between romantic notions about animals magically knowing exactly what they need to stay well vs. hard scientific evidence of an animal intentionally seeking and engaging in self-medication.

In truth, animals don't magically know what is good for them, for when animals raised in captivity are let go in the wild, they can die from eating poisonous plants that no one taught them to avoid. It is also exceptionally difficult to meet a scientist's rigid definition of self-medication which entails a observation in the wild of 1) an animal is visibly unwell 2) it starts eating things that it normally does not eat 3) it goes out of its way to find those things to eat 4) it becomes visibly better after consuming the unusual `food' in a reasonably short period of time and 5) there is a clear cause and effect link between the treatment and the condition.

Such observations are hard to make because most animals are healthy and fit most of the time just by living a naturally healthy lifestyle with varied diet, plenty of exercise etc. If you get plenty of vitamin C in your diet, you will never get scurvy. Similarly, many animals from mice to primates to elephants eat clay on a regular basis - it seems to prevent many forms of disease.

Yet such examples do exist. A most interesting one is the widespread consumption of rough textured bitter leaves which are carefully folded up accordion-style before eating by primates. The texture and folding is used to catch and mechanically expel worms.

Animals have been observed chewing on the root of a specific tree known to protect against malaria, during times of heavy infestation. Animals watch other animals to see what is safe to eat, or to see what they are eating when sick.

Native people have watched what animals eat to learn how to treat human ills. Bears are a particularly good source of information. Western societies have in turn, learned much from native peoples about medicine.

There is a lot to learn from this book, both in terms of what we can apply in our lives, as well as just remarkable facts from nature. Like: why do so many animals seemingly intentionally get drunk on fermenting fruit? Could it be that alcohol reduces stress which is keeps animals healthy and thus has an adaptive benefit?

Did you know that when a giraffe starts eating leaves from a tree, the leaves turn bitter in 10-15 minutes. Furthermore, the nearby trees sense this is going on, and their leaves turn bitter as well. Yet this only happens to the leaves that are in reach. Those that are higher up in the tree out of reach, remain succulent. The trees are not wasting any more energy than needed. The giraffes have learned that after they graze on one tree, they need to go quite a distance (45 minutes or so) to find trees that did not get the signal from the last feeding.

Highly Recommended Reading!

Excellent review.......2007-01-12

Since I was writing a literature review on zoopharmacognosy I wasn't sure if this book was going to be too "light". It was in fact a lit review in itself with many interesting insights from the author and known scientists in the field. Although it could be more critical the points made are still valid. A must for the study of zoopharmacognosy!

great book--fascinating.......2002-09-16

This is a totally fascinating, wonderfully illuminating book--it's become a favorite for me. Cindy Engel is a superb writer.

More than Common Sense.......2002-07-14

This is the book I have been waiting for! Herbalists and other behavioral scientists such as nurses who have encouraged the public to look at their health behaviors will be buoyed up by Engel's research and ability to deliver the "message". This is a must for all health science collections both personal and institutional. Timely.

Interesting book for Wildlife's vets and animals lover!!.......2002-05-06

I have recently received this book at home and I started to read it. At the moment, I finished the chapter one and I started the second one and I can tell you that this book is very interesting. I had not listened about other similar book with this topic.
Really, I recommend that Wildlife and Zoo's vets read this book, in order to learn more about the means to be healthy in the wild.
We can learn more of Wild's medicine and probably to be able to use it in a captivity environment.

Congratulations To Cindy for this book!!

Amazon.com

The Blue Ridge Mountains run 500 miles from Pennsylvania to Georgia and take in some of the eastern United States' wildest country, including seven national parks and many state parks and wilderness areas. The mountain chain also embraces, environmental journalist Steve Nash writes, 29 species of snakes, 70 species of mammals, more than 200 species of birds, 70 species of fish, 1400 species of flowering plants, and more than 130 species of trees--almost as many as can be found in all of Europe. The richness is astonishing, but also, Nash writes, seemingly unappreciated, for the Blue Ridge is now under threat from industrial, commercial, and residential development, with acid rain and other hazards affecting its many ecosystems. Guiding his readers through many scenarios on how these environmental problems might best be lessened, Nash points out that conflicting scientific data lends an "illusion of precision" to the idea, on one hand, that nature will automatically right itself or, on the other hand, that catastrophic change is irreversible. Neither case, he suggests, is strictly true, and he invites his readers to participate in the business of developing a vision for the Blue Ridge's sustainable future. Residents of the region and students of regional planning alike will find Nash's book to be of much interest. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

The mountain chain known as the Blue Ridge traces a 550-mile arc through Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia. Along the way, it encompasses Shenandoah National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, seven national forests, numerous federal wilderness areas and state parks, and parts of the Appalachian Trail. It is the largest concentration of public lands east of the Mississippi and home to an astonishing diversity of plant and animal life. But as the most extensive natural area in the increasingly populous Southeast, the Blue Ridge ecosystem faces unique challenges in the next decades.

Drawing on scientific research in a variety of disciplines, journalist Steve Nash provides a clear and evenhanded introduction to some of the most hotly disputed environmental issues facing the Blue Ridge, including the invasion of exotic plants and insects, the explosive growth of suburban-style communities in natural areas, worsening air and water pollution, and the erratic management of national forests. Informative and highly readable, Blue Ridge 2020 takes a hard look at what is at risk in these mountains and what we—as the "owners" of the public lands—must do if we intend to preserve their future.

Customer Reviews:

A most important owner's manual.......2000-11-14

Just the title provides food for thought: Blue Ridge 2020, An Owner's Manual, reminds us that the public has a responsibility for effective stewardship of the public lands in the Blue Ridge. I also like the play on words of 2020--hindsight is 20/20, and if we don't take a hard, clear look at what is happening to the ecology of the Blue Ridge and work hard to improve it, we will have deep regrets by the year 2020. The human scale of twenty years is very effective. I'm 31--what kind of Blue Ridge will I experience at 51? As a local environmental activist in the Page Valley, I find this book is a tremendously useful and motivating resource. In one book, Steve Nash provides an overview of specific problems and practical solutions. His writing style is clear and accessible. If you care about the health about the Blue Ridge or want up to date information about the quality of air and water in the mountains, this is a book you need to read. This is one of the best "state of the ecology" books I've read, and it is particularly useful for its regional approach.

At Issue Series - How Should America's Wilderness Be Managed? (hardcover edition) (At Issue Series)

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At Issue Series - How Should America's Wilderness Be Managed? (hardcover edition) (At Issue Series)

Manufacturer: Greenhaven Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

Politics & Government | Reference & Nonfiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Ecology | Science & Technology | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 073772384X

Book Description

There are many divergent opinions over the stewardship of America's wilderness. How Should the Wilderness Be Managed? explores land use issues from many points of view including those of loggers, environmentalists, oil geologists, backpackers, snowmobile riders, and others.

Issues in Wilderness Management (A Wv Replica Edition)

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Issues in Wilderness Management (A Wv Replica Edition)

Manufacturer: Westview Pr (Short Disc)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0865318948

Wilderness Issues in the Arid Lands of the Western United States

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Wilderness Issues in the Arid Lands of the Western United States
Samuel I. Zeveloff
Manufacturer: Univ of New Mexico Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0826313655

Wilderness Preservation: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues)

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Wilderness Preservation: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues)
Kenneth A. Rosenberg
Manufacturer: ABC-Clio Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 087436731X

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