Tightrope : Six Centuries of a Jewish Dynasty

by Karpin, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780470173732
• ISBN10: 0470173734
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-09-29
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

The 750-year epic tale of the extraordinary Backenroth family, this is at the same time an engaging, scrupulously researched narrative history of Jewish life since the Middle Ages. Throughout this time span, the Backenroths could be found at some of the most important events in Jewish history: the migration of their community from western to eastern Europe, the creation of the Hasidic movement, the birth of Zionism, and the loss of so many of their family during the Holocaust. As they struggle to survive, the Backenroths marry, find their fortune in oil, and spawn families with last names that are still widely known.This sweeping family saga is shaped by real people -- talented and creative women and men swept by the dramatic tides of the history into distant regions and complex situations, where they were forced to display resourcefulness and courage in order to survive. Time and time again they slid from prosperity and opulence to profound poverty and distress, and time after time they managed to surmount crises by virtue of their personal abilities, their tenacious belief in their values, and family solidarity.

Author Biography

Michael Karpin has been a television and radio news reporter and anchor in Israel for more than thirty years. He is the author of The Bomb in the Basement: How Israel Went Nuclear and What That Means for the World. Karpin is coauthor of Murder in the Name of God: The Plot to Kill YitzhakRabin. He has also produced documentaries, including A Bomb in the Basement, which has been shown on Canadian, European, Moroccan, and Israeli television. His documentary The Road to Rabin Square was screened by TV networks in fifteen countries and won prizes at leading international film festivals.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgements	p. xi
High Hopes
Transfer	p. 3
The Tavern Keeper	p. 15
The Miracle	p. 25
Oil Fever	p. 39
Backenroth the Hasid	p. 51
Ecological Disaster	p. 67
A King Is Born	p. 83
Disillusionment
For God, Emperor, and Homeland	p. 101
Crime and Punishment	p. 117
The Drasha Speech	p. 125
Pilgrimage to Jerusalem	p. 143
Redemption
The Road to Mecca	p. 155
A Love Story	p. 175
Deceptive Fate	p. 197
The Wedding	p. 207
The Communist Train	p. 231
Judenrat	p. 245
Parting	p. 261
A Perfect Riding Hall	p. 269
Ullo's Best School	p. 285
Stolen Identity	p. 301
Phoenixlike	p. 309
Interlude on the Way to Anchorage	p. 331
Notes	p. 357
Bibliography	p. 401
Index	p. 405
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