The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch, 1743-1933

By Amos Elon

“Brilliant, far-reaching, passionate. . . sweeping and marvelously detailed. . . finely, intimately, movingly drawn. . . a book for the ages.” —The New York Times

“[Elon] is a master of the telling anecdote. . . One should be grateful for what Elon has done.” —Los Angeles Times

“A work packed with beautifully sketched portraits, and constructed with a practiced eye for memorable, well-executed anecdotes.” —The New York Times Book Review

In this important work of historical restoration, Amos Elon shows how a persecuted clan of cattle dealers and wandering peddlers was transformed into a stunningly successful community of writers, philosophers, scientists, tycoons, and activists. In engaging, brilliantly etched portraits of Moses Mendelssohn, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Hannah Arendt, and many others, Elon traces how a small minority came to be perceived as a deadly threat to German national integrity.

Paperback
464 pages
Picador, 2003
5.6 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
ISBN 9780312422813
Art History, Biographical, German History