The Jewish Dark Continent: Life and Death in the Russian Pale of Settlement
A century ago,The Jewish Ethnographic Programgave us the culture of theshtetlat such close range and in such extraordinary detail that we can see the blood spot on the conjugal sheet and read the petitionary notes on the Zaddik's grave. Thanks to Nathaniel Deutsch, An-sky's 'dark continent' is revealed to us as a living, luminous place. (David Roskies, author ofYiddishlands: A Memoir)The Jewish Dark Continentis much more than the story of an amazing individual and an inspired, if quixotic, project of collaborative research. It is a genuine voyage of exploration, a work of erudition and vision that restores complexity, paradox, and possibility to the Jewish Pale of Settlement. Brilliant and genre-bending. (James Clifford, author ofThe Predicament of CultureandRoutes)A highly original work--a superb translation, an erudite, lively annotation, above all an extended conversation with one of late imperial Russian Jewry's most intriguing minds. (Steven J. Zipperstein, author ofImagining Russian Jewry)For the first time, a rare and precious document, as lost as the world it was intended to document, comes to light. World War I halted the ethnographic expedition that would have provided the answers to this unique questionnaire about all aspects of the Jewish life cycle in Eastern Europe. Thanks to Nathaniel Deutsch's fine translation and erudite commentary these tantalizing questions--without answers--reveal what those who formulated them expected to find. Truly a treasure. (Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, editor ofWriting a Modern Jewish Historyand co-author ofThey Called Me Mayer July)[A] perceptive and intriguing work. (David WolpeWeekly Standard2011-11-21)