Synopses & Reviews
Alexander Harkavy (18631939) is credited with almost single-handedly creating an intellectual environment conducive to Yiddish, and his trilingual dictionary is an indispensable tool for research in Yiddish language and literature. This dictionary has been a classic since it originally appeared in New York in 1925.
Review
“Among the most important books . . . in the field of Yiddish.”—Ruth Wisse, Professor of Yiddish Literature, Harvard University
Review
“I could not be more enthusiastic about this project. One cannot read Yiddish literature without Harkavys 1928 dictionary. Dovid Katzs delightful and balanced introduction . . . is accessible and yet meticulously scholarly.”—David Goldberg, Modern Language Association
Review
"Among the most important books . . . in the field of Yiddish."-Ruth Wisse, Professor of Yiddish Literature, Harvard University
(Ruth Wisse)
Synopsis
In this survey of U.S. history, John Kane looks at the tensions between American virtue and power and how those tensions have influenced foreign policy. Americans have long been suspicious of power as a threat to individual liberty, Kane argues, and yet the growth of national power has been perceived as a natural byproduct of American virtue. This contradiction has posed a persistent crisis that has influenced the trajectory of American diplomacy and foreign relations for more than two hundred years. Kane examines the various challenges, including emerging Nationalism, isolationism, and burgeoning American power, which have at times challenged not only foreign policy but American national identity. The events of September 11, 2001, rekindled Americans' sense of righteousness, the author observes, but the subsequent use of power in Iraq has raised questions about the nation's virtue and, as in earlier days, cast a deep shadow over its purpose and direction.