The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement: The Compendium of a Culture, a People, and Their Stunning Performance - Softcover

Pease, Steven L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0982516819 ISBN 13: 9780982516812

Publisher: Deucalion, 2009

Synopsis

"In the wake of the Enlightenment . . .the suddenness with which Jews began to appear and make a mark in numerous. . . areas . . . is nothing short of astounding. It seemed as if a huge reservoir of Jewish talent, hitherto dammed up behind the wall of Talmudic learning were suddenly released to spill over into all fields of Gentile cultural activity." - Raphael Patai, The Jewish Mind "Quite suddenly, around the year 1800, this ancient and highly efficient social machine for the production of intellectuals began to shift its output. Instead of pouring all of its products into the closed circuit of rabbinical studies, where they remained completely isolated from general society, it unleashed a significant and ever growing proportion of them into secular life. This was an event of shattering importance in world history." - Paul Johnson, History of the Jews The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement chronicles the astonishing record of one people's disproportionate achivements and the causes behind it. The stunning performance of Jews over the last 125 years can only be compared with that of the Italians during the Renaissance, the Greeks during the era of Pericles, or the Dutch during their own Golden Age. The Golden Age details that record in more than 60 exhibits covering the range from Nobel prizes to Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame awards, from Pulitzer Prizes to chess champions, from philanthropy to Supreme Court Justices and more. But more intriguing is the question, "Why has this happened?" (the question posed by Rabbi Harold N. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People). Through fascinating stories, such as "Lev Leviev and the Soviet Jews" (at the start of Chapter 20) and "The Jazz Singer" (at the start of Chapter 13) the book illustrates the life and circumstances of hundreds of remarkable Jews before drawing its perspective together in Chapter 25 - Why? Timely, the book raises notions advanced by Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, and recent debates over "Jewish genes" as well as Charles Murray's 2007 Commentary article where he argued for natural selection. The Golden Age makes the case for culture. It explains how the evolution of Judaism, coupled with a tortured 2,000 year history has shaped a unique combination of cultural values which have made Jews into the world's most successful tribe of Outliers. For example, they were history's first tribe to mandate literacy for all of their people. The book challenges natural selection, second generation immigrant status, and other theories which have been advanced over the years to explain the phenomenon. The Golden Age research is detailed in the extensive exhibits, end notes, bibliography and index containing more than 4,000 entries. But it is the stories and the thought provoking analysis that makes The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement a compelling and much discussed read.

About this title

About the Author

A CEO specializing in turnarounds, a venture capitalist, and a community activist, Steve Pease has traveled much of the world in heading up both public and private companies as well as not-for-profit organizations. Born and raised Presbyterian in Spokane, Washington, he is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Washington with a master's degree from Harvard Business School. He currently serves as cochairman of the U.S. Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law, and Chairman of The U.S. Russia Investment Fund. Both are nonprofit entities, organized by the United States government to work with Russians, encourage entrepreneurship, civil society, and the rule of law, while also improving the U.S.-Russia relationship. He is also active in the community affairs of the small wine-country town of Sonoma, California, where he lives with his wife

Review

Exhaustive examination of Jewish achievement over the past 200 years.
Pease, who is not Jewish, explains that from a young age he has had an interest in and empathy for the Jewish people, and that many of his friends and colleagues are Jewish. However, simple curiosity led him to ask how such a tiny group of people could have such a major impact upon culture and society. The more the author researched the role of Jews in the modern world, the more impressed he became.

Pease explains that in a room filled with a thousand people representing the diversity of the globe, only two would be Jewish. Nevertheless, Jewish achievements belie those statistics. From the number of Nobel Prize winners, to the percent of students on Ivy League campuses, to the notables on various Greatest 100 lists of historical figures, Jews have a consistently strong showing despite their otherwise small world presence.

Though the author discusses Jews throughout history, his real focus is on the period since the Jewish Emancipation dating back to the age of Napoleon. At this point, Pease argues, Jews began to have greater opportunities to contribute to national and global cultures.

The bulk of the book is dedicated to documenting individual and collective Jewish achievements, from Milton Friedman to Barbra Streisand and from the Six-Day War to real estate development.

The author finally provides an analysis of this data, concluding that Jewish culture, above any other factor, has contributed to such high achievement. Cultural focuses on family, education, autonomy, moderation and charity have all contributed.

Readers may wish Pease had delved deeper into what it means to be a Jew, both culturally and religiously, and the manner and extent to which some people profiled in his book actually considered themselves Jewish.

Still, this is an impressive tome.

An intriguing look at the modern history of an outstanding people. --Kirkus Discoveries

Exhaustive examination of Jewish achievement over the past 200 years.
Pease, who is not Jewish, explains that from a young age he has had an interest in and empathy for the Jewish people, and that many of his friends and colleagues are Jewish. However, simple curiosity led him to ask how such a tiny group of people could have such a major impact upon culture and society. The more the author researched the role of Jews in the modern world, the more impressed he became.

Pease explains that in a room filled with a thousand people representing the diversity of the globe, only two would be Jewish. Nevertheless, Jewish achievements belie those statistics. From the number of Nobel Prize winners, to the percent of students on Ivy League campuses, to the notables on various Greatest 100 lists of historical figures, Jews have a consistently strong showing despite their otherwise small world presence.

Though the author discusses Jews throughout history, his real focus is on the period since the Jewish Emancipation dating back to the age of Napoleon. At this point, Pease argues, Jews began to have greater opportunities to contribute to national and global cultures.

The bulk of the book is dedicated to documenting individual and collective Jewish achievements, from Milton Friedman to Barbra Streisand and from the Six-Day War to real estate development.

The author finally provides an analysis of this data, concluding that Jewish culture, above any other factor, has contributed to such high achievement. Cultural focuses on family, education, autonomy, moderation and charity have all contributed.

Readers may wish Pease had delved deeper into what it means to be a Jew, both culturally and religiously, and the manner and extent to which some people profiled in his book actually considered themselves Jewish.

Still, this is an impressive tome.

An intriguing look at the modern history of an outstanding people. --Kirkus Discoveries

Exhaustive examination of Jewish achievement over the past 200 years.
Pease, who is not Jewish, explains that from a young age he has had an interest in and empathy for the Jewish people, and that many of his friends and colleagues are Jewish. However, simple curiosity led him to ask how such a tiny group of people could have such a major impact upon culture and society. The more the author researched the role of Jews in the modern world, the more impressed he became.

Pease explains that in a room filled with a thousand people representing the diversity of the globe, only two would be Jewish. Nevertheless, Jewish achievements belie those statistics. From the number of Nobel Prize winners, to the percent of students on Ivy League campuses, to the notables on various Greatest 100 lists of historical figures, Jews have a consistently strong showing despite their otherwise small world presence.

Though the author discusses Jews throughout history, his real focus is on the period since the Jewish Emancipation dating back to the age of Napoleon. At this point, Pease argues, Jews began to have greater opportunities to contribute to national and global cultures.

The bulk of the book is dedicated to documenting individual and collective Jewish achievements, from Milton Friedman to Barbra Streisand and from the Six-Day War to real estate development.

The author finally provides an analysis of this data, concluding that Jewish culture, above any other factor, has contributed to such high achievement. Cultural focuses on family, education, autonomy, moderation and charity have all contributed.

Readers may wish Pease had delved deeper into what it means to be a Jew, both culturally and religiously, and the manner and extent to which some people profiled in his book actually considered themselves Jewish.

Still, this is an impressive tome.

An intriguing look at the modern history of an outstanding people. --Kirkus Discoveries

About this edition

• Publisher: Deucalion
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0982516819
• ISBN 13: 9780982516812
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 622