Author: Sarah Wobick-Segev File Type: pdf How did Jews go from lives organized by synagogues, shul, and mikvehs to lives thatif explicitly Jewish at allwere conducted in Hillel houses, JCCs, Katzs, and even Chabad? In pre-emancipation Europe, most Jews followed Jewish law most of the time, but by the turn of the twentieth century, a new secular Jewish identity had begun to take shape. Homes Away From Home tells the story of Ashkenazi Jews as they made their way in European society in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on the Jewish communities of Paris, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. At a time of growing political enfranchisement for Jews within European nations, membership in the official Jewish community became increasingly optional, and Jews in turn created spaces and programs to meet new social needs. The contexts of Jewish life expanded beyond the confines of traditional Jewish spaces into sites of consumption and leisure, sometimes to the consternation of Jewish authorities. Sarah Wobick-Segev argues that the social practices that developed between 1890 and the 1930ssuch as celebrating holydays at hotels and restaurants, or sending children to summer campfundamentally reshaped Jewish community, redefining and extending the boundaries of where Jewishness happened. **

Author: Simon Winder File Type: mobi Germania is propelled by a wish to reclaim the brilliant, chaotic, endlessly varied German civilization that the Nazis buried and ruined, and that, since 1945, so many Germans have worked to rebuild. A very funny book on serious topics---how we are misled by history, how we twist history, and how sometimes it is best to know no history at all. It is a book full of curiosities odd food, castles, mad princes, fairy tales, and horse-mating videos. It is about the limits of language, the meaning of culture, and the pleasure of townscape, and a book you will return to time and again (The Florida Times-Union).**From BooklistGermany has a culture that both fascinates and puzzles Winder, a Londoner. This broad and often whimsical portrayal of German history and culture is an apparent effort to express and perhaps understand those dual sentiments. Winder traces German history from the dim, mythological pre-Roman past in northern forests to the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. Although he utilizes a chronological narrative, his account is loaded with enjoyable digressions on German food, the charm of medieval castles, and German composers. Some of his historical points are instructive, including the fact that, for most of history, Germany was defined by language rather than geographical or religious unity, which he sees as fundamental in understanding the ferocity of German nationalism in the twentieth century. This is an enjoyable, often amusing, often serious effort to understand a people who remain at the center of European civilization. --Jay Freeman ReviewAn engaging, often funny catalog of one mans eccentric enthusiasm for a country that he has come to love--somewhat to his own surpriseWinder is an entertaining writer, and an erudite one. Ian Brunskill, The Wall Street JournalA delightfully personal and engaging bookWinders knowledge is as encyclopedic as his enthusiasm is childlike. Roger K. Miller, The Denver PostWinder digresses into wine, marzipan, wonder cabinets, American films, and his own inability to learn German or understand philosophy.A weirdly witty chronicle. Barbara Fisher, The Boston GlobeHis rich and broadly chronological history of Germany and its peoples is minutely researched. Interspersed in the narrative, however, are the deliciously opinionated, often hilarious and occasionally vituperative reminiscences of the authors many excursions to Germany and Austria. They make the book. The love-hate nature of his relationship with his subject brings out the best in his writing . . . It is the kind of knockabout humour that has British readers rolling while Germans smile politely but a little uncomprehendingly . . . A splendid offering. Hugh Mortimer, Financial TimesWonderful--very witty and highly entertaining, splendidly and amusingly opinionated, marvellously colourful in its descriptions of unusual places and little known people, and full of enjoyable insights into German history and culture. Ian Kershaw, author of Hitler A BiographyWinder is perhaps the first to have succeeded in presenting Germany as no less fun that France or Italy and the Germans as a nation of eccentrics very like our own . . . He excels in a style that he self-deprecatingly calls anecdotal facetiousness but which manages to convey copious quantities of facts in the most enjoyable way possible. Evening StandardIts plain that Winders mind is fizzing with interesting ideas. He can write beautifully, embodying a whole world in a phrase . . . He finds new angles on familiar subjects . . . His excitement is beguiling and infectious hes widely read, good-humoured and--a wonderful asset in writing this book--utterly lacking an axe to sharpen on the subject of the Second World War . . . There are many pleasures to be savoured in Germania . . . gems that make Winders clever, rambunctious work a book to treasure. Miranda Seymour, Literary ReviewThis book is the chronicle of a passion. It is also an engrossing, informative and hilarious read. He has spun an enthralling weave of travelogue, anecdote and historical mock-epic. What is often most engaging about these encounters is the spectacle of Winder himself. It made me laugh so hard that I woke up my wife and had to give up reading the book in bed. If Bill Bryson had collaborated with W. G. Sebald to write a book about Germany, they might have wound up with something like this. Winders extravagant mixing of genres allows him to seek historical depth without sacrificing the pleasures of anecdote. There is a serious purpose behind all the playfulness. Christopher Clark, The Sunday Times (London)Simon Winder peppers his meaty tome with quirky digressions, anecdotes and memories, revealing intriguing insights about Germany, from its cuisine to its architecture, people and history. ABTA MagazineTravelogue and historical narrative are merged in a gloriously free-wheeling narrative of the entire sweep of German history . . . This book is clearly not intended to be the last word on German history. But for any readers wanting a learned, entertaining and lucid introduction to a notoriously complex subject, it should certainly be their first. Seven Magazine, The Sunday TelegraphThis candid, cheerful and idiosyncratic approach to travelogue makes a refreshing change. Whether being stridently critical or puppyishly enthusiastic, Winder is a master of the well-turned phrase or the unexpected insight. The Times (London)Best to follow Winder on his rambles as youd follow a favourite uncle who knows lots about lots of apparently random things . . . He is most engaging and sporadically wise . . . Winders mind is a very agreeable place to go rambling. The ScotsmanEntertaining and informative... Delightful Philip Hensher, The Independent A beautifully written and insightful book . . . It can only be hoped that it will be read by many and that it will be recognised for what it is a witty, thought-provoking account of Germanys various histories, cultures and oddities. The Irish Times

Author: Carmel Harrington File Type: epub We are now sleeping far less than ever before and carrying more weight than at any other time in human history. Is there a connection?In this groundbreaking book, Australian sleep expert Dr Carmel Harrington demonstrates the critical link between sleeplessness and obesity. Drawing from the latest sleep and nutrition research, Dr Harrington reveals the science behind what happens to our bodies when we dont get enough sleep, and how this critically affects our appetite-controlling hormones, our metabolism and how we think and feel. She explains why proper sleep is the missing link in the ongoing and often agonising attempts to lose weight.Dr Harrington shows how to develop habits that deliver high-quality, restorative sleep. She provides a plan for healthy eating and a guide to making sure our improved eating and sleeping habits lead to lasting weight loss.Accessible and authoritative, The Sleep Diet is both a scientifically proven approach and a practical guide to losing weight and improving overall health and wellbeing.

Author: Todd Curtis Kontje File Type: pdf This volume of new essays by leading scholars treats a representative sampling of German realist prose from the period 1848 to 1900, the period of its dominance of the German literary landscape. It includes essays on familiar, canonical authors -- Stifter, Freytag, Raabe, Fontane, Thomas Mann -- and canonical texts, but also considers writers frequently omitted from traditional literary histories, such as Luise Muhlbach, Friedrich Spielhagen, Louise von Francois, Karl May, and Eugenie Marlitt. The introduction situates German realism in the context of both German literary history and of developments in other European literatures, and surveys the most prominent critical studies of ninteenth-century realism. The essays treat the following topics Stifters Brigitta and the lesson of realism Muhlbach, Ranke, and the truth of historical fiction regional histories as national history in Freytags Die Ahnen gender and nation in Louise von Francoiss historical fiction theory, reputation, and the career of Friedrich Spielhagen Wilhelm Raabe and the German colonial experience the poetics of work in Freytag, Stifter, and Raabe Jewish identity in Berthold Auerbachs novels Eugenie Marlitts narratives of virtuous desire the appeal of Karl May in the Wilhelmine Empire Thomas Manns portrayal of male-male desire in his early short fiction and Fontanes Effi Briest and the end of realism. Contributors Robert C. Holub, Brent O. Petersen, Lynne Tatlock, Thomas C. Fox, Jeffrey L. Sammons, John Pizer, Hans J. Rindisbacher, Irene S. Di Maio, Kirsten Belgum, Nina Berman, Robert Tobin, Russell A. Berman. Todd Kontje is professor of German at the University of California, San Diego.