Yiddish

A Nation of Words

By: Miriam Weinstein

Narrated by: J. L. Glick

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

About a thousand years ago, European Jews began speaking a language that was quite different from the various tongues and dialects that swirled around them. It included Hebrew, a touch of the Romance and Slavic languages, and a large helping of German. In a world of earthly wandering, this pungent, witty, and infinitely nuanced speech, full of jokes, puns, and ironies, became the linguistic home of the Jews, the bond that held a people together.

Here is the remarkable story of how this humble language took vigorous root in Eastern European shtetls and in the Jewish quarters of cities across Europe; how it achieved a rich literary flowering between the wars in Europe and America; how it was rejected by emancipated Jews; and how it fell victim to the Holocaust. And also how, in yet another twist of destiny, Yiddish today is becoming the darling of academia.

Yiddish is a history as story, a tale of flesh-and-blood people with manic humor, visionary courage, brilliant causes, and glorious flaws. It will delight everyone who cares about language, literature, and culture.

©2001 Miriam Weinstein (P)2012 Steerforth Press L.L.C.

Critic reviews

“A charming and highly readable history of the language . . . Weinstein succeeds in her efforts to recreate the sound of a world that is gone forever.” ( The Washington Post)

“Yiddish: A Nation of Words reads like a folktale peppered with passionate characters." ( The Boston Globe)

“Almost everyone knows a little Yiddish, a word or two, a joke perhaps, but what do they really know of the history, the tragedies, and bitter controversies that characterized a language now on the U.N.’s endangered list, but once spoken by eleven million people. . . . Part of the problem has been the lack of a serious, yet accessible book to fill the gap between glib entertainments. . . . Weinstein’s bookaims to do that and her success . . . is substantial.” ( Los Angeles Times)

A really compelling book.

It would have been better if the narrator had been able to pronounce Yiddish better. Still a very good book.

Good book, great reader

A nice Jewish history book written with information about Yiddish as the common thread. Well worth the listen.

Must listen for language aficionados

I had no idea of the complex history of Yiddish.
I've heard it spoken and now I'm encouraged to learn more of the Mama Loschen.

Don't skip over this book, give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Narrator doesn’t know Yiddish

If you know any Yiddish at all, you will be continuously distracted by the narrator’s bizarre pronunciations. You can get away with a lot in Yiddish - there are many dialects with distinct pronunciations - but this is just narishkeit (silliness). His Hebrew is, possibly, worse.

The content is good, and gets more detailed and coherent as the book goes on. I could have taken it more seriously if I hadn’t been so distracted by the narration!

The history of Israel section is bound to annoy some. It assumes a great deal of background knowledge. It’s not wrong, just might be jarring.

Is it as good as Wex’s Born to Kvetch? No, but you should read both for a balanced view. Throw in Kriwaczek’s Yiddish Civilization and you’re covered. But Born to Kvetch is the best of the genre.

Fascinating!

I loved this book, it was well-written, well-paced, and very interesting. Highly recommend!

Incredible book. Wonderful narration.

This was so surprisingly well-done. Meticulously researched and written like a New Yorker article. Narration infuses the story and the Yiddish words with real heft.