Synopses & Reviews
Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2008 With infectious energy and a genuine gift for storytelling, Raymond A. Schroth recounts the history of Jesuits in the United States. The American Jesuits isn't simply a book for Catholics; it's for anyone who loves a well-told historical tale. For more than 450 years, Jesuit priests have traveled the globe out of a religious commitment to serve others. Their order, the Society of Jesus, is the largest religious order of men in the Catholic Church, with more than 20,000 members around the world and almost 3,000 in the United States. It is one of the more liberal orders in the Church, taking very public stands in the U.S. on behalf of social justice causes such as the promotion of immigrants rights and humanitarian aid, including assistance to Africa's poor, and against American involvement in "unjust wars." Jesuits have played an important part in Americanizing the Catholic Church and in preparing Catholic immigrants for inclusion into American society.
Starting off with the first Jesuit to reach the New World—he was promptly murdered on the Florida coast—Schroth focuses on the key periods of the Jesuit experience in the Americas, beginning with the era of European explorers, many of whom were accompanied by Jesuits and some of whom were Jesuits themselves. Suppressed around the time of the American Revolution, the Society experienced resurgence in the nineteenth century, arriving in the U.S. along with waves of Catholic immigrants and establishing a network of high schools and universities. In the mid-twentieth century, the Society transformed itself to serve an urbanizing nation.
Schroth is not blind to the Societys shortcomings and not all of his story reflects well on the Jesuits. However, as he reminds readers, Jesuits are not gods and they don't dwell in mountaintop monasteries. Rather, they are imperfect men who work in a messy world to “find God in all things” and to help their fellow men and women do the same.
A quintessential American tale of men willing to take risks — for Indians, blacks, immigrants, and the poor, and to promote a loving picture of God—The American Jesuits offers a broad and compelling look at the impact of this 400-year-old international order on American culture and the cultures impact on the Jesuits.
Review
"Provides a comprehensive treatment of the history of Zionism, one of the few great success stories in ideological movements, and movements of national liberation in the twentieth century. Few are more qualified to edit a volume on this subject than Anita Shapira and Jehuda Reinharz." -Chaim Herzog,Former President of Israel
Review
"The most comprehensive collection of articles on the history of Zionism, covering all its aspects, written by the leading experts in the field, a unique, indispensable work for all serious students of the subject." -Walter Laqueur,author of A History of Zionism
Review
“[Schroth] here offers a readable overview of the society, beginning in 1566 with the arrival of Portuguese Jesuits off the coast of Florida and covering both the heroic positives and frank negatives of its presence and influences in mission, education, and social justice. . . . This book fills a gap in general works on the subject.”
-Library Journal,
Review
“Raymond Schroth has hit gold.”
-Julie Bourbon,Fordham Magazine
Review
“Valuable as an undergraduate text, as a guidebook for those curious about the Society but with only a distant knowledge of its workings, and as a reference for Jesuit novices who are unlikely to know much about the history of the organization they are joining. . . . Popular history for grown-ups. . . . A page turner.”
-American Catholic Studies,
Review
“We are offered rewarding discussions of Jesuits engagement with the abolitionist debate, their role in the CIvil War, tales of such Jesuit characters as Arnold Damen and measured reportage of many of the controversies that engulfed the order.”
-America: The National Catholic Weekly,
Review
“Schroth writes with lucidity and has an ear for the telling quotation.”
-First Things,
Synopsis
Zionism, more than any other social and political movement in the modern era, has completely and fundamentally altered the self-image of the Jewish people and its relations with the non- Jewish world. As the dominant expression of Jewish nationalism, Zionism revolutionized the very concept of Jewish peoplehood, taking upon itself the transformation of the Jewish people from a minority into a majority, and from a diaspora community into a territorial one.
Bringing together for the first time the work of the most distinguished historians of Zionism and the Yishuv (pre-state Israeli society), many never before translated into English, this volume offers a comprehensive treatment of the history of Zionism. The contributions are diverse, examining such topics as the ideological development of the Jewish nationalist movement, Zionist trends in the Land of Israel, and relations between Jews, Arabs, and the British in Palestine. Contributors include: Jacob Katz, Shmuel Almog, Yosef Salmon, David Vital, Steven J. Zipperstein, Michael Heymann, Jonathan Frankel, George L. Berlin, Israel Oppenheim, Gershon Shaked, Joseph Heller, Hagit Lavsky, and Bernard Wasserstein.
Synopsis
Zionism, more than any other social and political movement in the modern era, has completely and fundamentally altered the self-image of the Jewish people and its relations with the non- Jewish world. As the dominant expression of Jewish nationalism, Zionism revolutionized the very concept of Jewish peoplehood, taking upon itself the transformation of the Jewish people from a minority into a majority, and from a diaspora community into a territorial one.
Bringing together for the first time the work of the most distinguished historians of Zionism and the Yishuv (pre-state Israeli society), many never before translated into English, this volume offers a comprehensive treatment of the history of Zionism. The contributions are diverse, examining such topics as the ideological development of the Jewish nationalist movement, Zionist trends in the Land of Israel, and relations between Jews, Arabs, and the British in Palestine. Contributors include: Jacob Katz, Shmuel Almog, Yosef Salmon, David Vital, Steven J. Zipperstein, Michael Heymann, Jonathan Frankel, George L. Berlin, Israel Oppenheim, Gershon Shaked, Joseph Heller, Hagit Lavsky, and Bernard Wasserstein.
About the Author
Raymond A. Schroth, S.J., is a Jesuit priest and a journalist. He is the author of six books, including Dante to Dead Man Walking: One Reader's Journey through the Christian Classics, and American Journey of Eric Sevareid. He has also written more than 300 articles and reviews on politics, religion, and the media, which have appeared in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Newsday, and America, and he is an award-winning media critic for the National Catholic Reporter, for which he writes a regular column.