Synopses & Reviews
In Odessa, the greatest port on the Black Sea, a dream of cosmopolitan freedom inspired geniuses and innovators, from the writers Alexander Pushkin and Isaac Babel to Zionist activist Vladimir Jabotinsky and immunologist Ilya Mechnikov. Yet here too was death on a staggering scale, as World War II brought the mass murder of Jews carried out by the city's Romanian occupiers. is an elegy for the vibrant, multicultural tapestry of which a thriving Jewish population formed an essential part, as well as a celebration of the survival of Odessa's dream in a diaspora reaching all the way to Brighton Beach.
Review
"Eloquent and engaging." Michael Schwirtz
Review
"A worthy tribute to one of Europe's greatest and least-known cities." Moment
Review
"Engaging and highly enjoyable...King brings a travel writer's gift for clear prose and keen observation to history." The Economist
Synopsis
From Alexander Pushkin and Isaac Babel to Zionist renegade Vladimir Jabotinsky and filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, an astonishing cast of geniuses helped shape Odessa, a legendary haven of cosmopolitan freedom on the Black Sea. Drawing on a wealth of original sources and offering the first detailed account of the destruction of the city's Jewish community during the Second World War, Charles King's Odessa is both history and elegy--a vivid chronicle of a multicultural city and its remarkable resilience over the past two centuries.
Synopsis
"Rich and riveting, complex and compelling, powerful and poetic."--Peter M. Gianotti,
About the Author
Charles King lives in Washington, DC, where he is a professor of international affairs and government at Georgetown University. He is the author of five books on Eastern Europe and a frequent commentator on events in the region for television, radio, and the press.