The Debate Over Jewish Achievement: Exploring the Nature and Nurture of Human Accomplishment

"Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers ..." Mark Twain Concerning The Jews Harpers, 1899 What Steven L. Pease did in 2009 with his book The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement an exhaustive 624-page compendium has been more than matched by The Debate Over Jewish Achievement, a thoughtful, balanced and ultimately astounding exploration of the why behind the what of Jewish achievement. Pease traces more than 100 years of major theories put forth to explain the phenomenon, using the technique of a Chronology to expose the strengths and flaws of each theory over time. He puts nature (genetics) and nurture (Jewish culture) under an unrelenting microscope, drawing on recent research into the impacts of culture as well as the breakthroughs in genetics following completion of the Human Genome Project. Some of that research has established, beyond any reasonable doubt, the genetic heritage and linkages between most of the world s Jews dating back thousands of years: the Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Mizrahim and others. Pease also explores how new ways of thinking, such as epigenetics, are moving beyond conventional genetics to present new insights into how nature and nurture may interact to shape what we become. While Pease invites readers to keep an open mind during the time travel of his Chronology, he himself comes down firmly on the side of culture as the most important driving influence behind Jewish achievement. And he is orthright about what he sees as the critical lessons to be gleaned from Jewish achievement, as they relate to us all.

A CEO specializing in turnarounds, a venture capitalist, and a community activist, Steve Pease has traveled much of the world in the course of heading up not-for-profit organizations as well as public and private companies. Earlier, he was author of The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement. 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 co-chairman of the U.S. Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law, and was 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, Joyce.