The Russian-Jewish Tradition

“If you are someone who likes things Russian and Jewish, then Brian Horowitz’s newest book has everything. … There is no single ‘Tradition’ here, but instead a series of intellectual, institutional, and cultural vectors that both inform and contradict each other. As such, Horowitz’s new book is a lively and welcome addition to a field that he—along with such scholars as Yuri Slezkine, Gabriella Safran, Nathaniel Deutsch, Olga Litvak, Mikhail Krutikov, Steven Zipperstein, and others—has already done much to shape.” —Val Vinokur, The New School, Slavic and East European Journal

Vassili Schedrin:

“Horowitz’s essays are built on a solid foundation of multilingual primary sources and literature, revealing the author’s profound knowledge of both the Jewish and Russian context. Horowitz’s work speaks to the past and ongoing research of scholars from around the world and across the field. … In sum, The Russian-Jewish Tradition is essential reading for scholars and advanced students of many subjects within the fields of Jewish and Russian history, culture, and literature.” —Vassili Schedrin, Queen's University, Canada, H-Net Reviews

Gabriella Safran:
If there was any powerful, single, positive intellectual commitment among [Russian Jewish intellectuals], it seems, it was not to an ideology, but rather to the urge to document and to describe one’s own reactions to evidence. This notion of the power of writing is evident in Horowitz’s citation from a letter Rozanov wrote to Gershenzon in 1909: 'I fear that the Jews will grab the history of Russian literature and Russian criticism still more firmly than the banks' (227). Writing about literature, Rozanov believed, was a way to take power. The Russian Jewish intellectuals, it appears, agreed—and Horowitz pays homage to their achievements.

This book is a comprehensive analysis of Russian-Jewish tradition, Jewish intellectuals, historians, writers and educational institutions in the late nineteenth and and early twentieth centuries. It is a well-written reference book for specialists and academics on Russian-Jewish history.

Victoria Khiterer, Millersville University:
"The book is written in an elegant scholarly style and will be interesting for specialists in Russian Jewish history, literature and philosophy; as well as students and a wider audience. The book significantly increases our knowledge on the Jewish identity in Russia, on Russian Jewish intellectuals, and on Jewish scholarly and educational institutions."

Steven G. Marks, Professor of History, Clemson University:
"Brian Horowitz's beautifully written essays illustrate the vibrancy and vicissitudes of Russian Jewish thought in the late Imperial and early Soviet periods. With mastery of Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, and German sources, he plumbs the depths of philosophy and fiction to convey the subtleties of Jewish intellectual history all the while countering the stereotype of Jewish victimization."

Dr. Scott Ury, Senior Lecturer, Department of Jewish History Director, Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism Tel Aviv University:
"Through this learned, wide-ranging collection of articles on a fascinating generation of Jewish intellectuals, historians and authors, Brian Horowitz provides an invaluable set of insights into the many different connections between Russian and Jewish cultures and societies. With articles on S. An-sky, Simon Dubnow, Vladimir Jabotinsky and other key figures, this book will soon become required reading for students and scholars of Russian, Jewish and East European histories."