Washington Books

A great many Jewish holidays and practices in their earliest understanding reflect the great innovation of Biblical religion which placed the emphasis on "historic events" in contrast to other ancient Near Eastern religions which stressed nature. As Abraham Joshua Heschel noted, faith is memory. The observances of Jewish holidays and of various Jewish practices ritually articulate theological ideas reflective of a collective Jewish memory.

That being said, one might assume that Jews and Judaism naturally place a great emphasis on the history of the Jewish people. Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi in his work Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory, however, argues that what has been understood as history in Jewish circles from the Biblical era until fairly recent times is considerably different that what the modern reader might expect in light of the importance of and emphasis placed on memory. Until recently as Yerushalmi notes, a general lack of interest in historical events that were disconnected to the theological concerns of the Jewish community existed, so much so that an interest in history was as Solomon Ibn Verga writing in the Middles Ages, seen as a "Christian" custom.

The seeming disconnect between memory, history, and histiography according to Yerushalmi is surprising given the fact that beginning with the Tanakh, an emphasis, or better said a command to remember is given. For Yerushalmi, the principal goal of Zakhor is to understand the relationship of Jews to their past and the place of the historian in that relationship. What Jews remembered, or chose to remember is the subject of Yerushalmi's quest. As he notes correctly, the actual recording of historical events has been anything but the primary vehicle through which the Jewish people have preserved their collective memory. Yerushalmi highlights the distinction between Jewish memory and Jewish histiography.

Herein lays one of the weaknesses of Zakhor. Yerushalmi does not sufficiently compare the nature of non-Jewish histiography during the various periods he addresses. While it is sufficiently clear from Yerushalmi's review of Jewish attitudes and the apologetically natured tone of many "Jewish historians" when introducing their works that general history was at best something interesting, but of little real value, the manner in which "general" history was perceived by non-Jews is a much needed comparison. He does not provide a view of how Frenchman, Spaniards, Italian, etc. understood their own sense of history.

Yerushalmi divides his study of Jewish history into four broad eras. The first is the Biblical and Rabbinic eras reaching until the early medieval period. The sources here include Biblical texts and selections from rabbinic literature through the redaction of the Talmud. Yerushalmi points to a variety of Biblical texts (e.g. Deuteronomy 25:5-9; Deuteronomy 6:10-12; Joshua 4:6-7, etc.) to note that while the Biblical texts are focused on remembering the "historic" acts of G-d's providence on behalf of Israel, they are nevertheless often connected to the lives of individuals in all of their fullness.

This reflects a seeming contradiction of the Biblical text and of a Biblical worldview and supports Yerushalmi's assertion that Jewish memory is selective, where kings and great events do not necessarily merit attention. This stands simultaneously with so much of the Biblical text that focuses on none other than great events and great individuals presented in historical narratives.

For Yerushalmi, the nature of Judaism's uneasy relationship with history is further seen by an almost wholesale dismissal of historical works after the writing of Josephus' Jewish War and Jewish Antiquities at the end of the 1st century of the Common Era. Yet here Yerushalmi does not address the very process of canon formation which in part might explain the paucity of certain historical events being retained among the sacred texts of Israel.

While he briefly mentions the three Jewish rebellions against Rome, he does not I believe sufficiently address the trauma these unsuccessful bids for freedom produced. Yerushalmi notes the almost wholesale dismissal of "the comings and goings of Roman procurators, the dynastic affairs of Roman emperors...even the convolutions of the Hasmonean dynasty...were largely ignored." The intensity and ramifications of the destruction of the Temple and in particular Bar Cochba's failed revolt surely dictated the manner in which many events were to be understood and remembered, out of a political necessity if nothing else. Here the significance of the events that Yerushalmi notes as being ignored may instead reflect pressures stemming from issues internal to the Jewish community as well as concerns stemming from Roman hegemony. He does not sufficiently address the fact that the "dismissal" of these events may lay instead in an agenda to place at a distance any memories such as the Maccabean struggle (where Yerushalmi notes, the Talmud places emphasis on the miracle in contrast to the battles) and other events of Jewish history that might lead to future disastrous consequences. Neither is the possible concern of Roman oversight of such documents mentioned.

The second era is primarily focused on the Middle Ages. The source material here largely consists of penitential prayers, fasts, the observance of "Second Purims," and memorial books. What follows in the realm of "Jewish history" until the early Middle Ages are largely composed of various works attempting to establish the legitimacy of the chain of tradition dating back to Sinai, or the challenge of "striving to interpret it [the history bequeathed to them] in terms of their own later generations." Here again, the lack of comparison with other contemporary non-Jewish attitudes on history are insufficient.

The third era of concern is that following the Expulsion from Spain and a flurry of texts written on Jewish history, many of which were influenced by the hope of messianic redemption. The last deals with Modern era from its roots in the Haskalah and more importantly in the rise of the "Scientific" study of Judaism beginning in Germany and spreading throughout academia. It is perhaps the last section which stands out as one of the most meaningful of Yerushalmi's book. In short, for Yerushalmi, the scientific study of Judaism and Jewish history has seen history replace Scripture as the arbiter of Jewish ideologies.

To understand the reason for the disconnect between history and memory, Yerushalmi contends that part of this may lie, in the complicated nature of history as drawn from none other than the Greeks, with Herodotus credited as the father of history. Yet the Greeks themselves appear to have failed to achieve a sense of the meaning of history as a whole. Herein lays, according to Yerushalmi, the great contribution of Jews to the subject of histiography.

The meaning of Jewish history, then, is Yerushalmi's principal concern. Yerushalmi argues for the inextricable nature of Jewish religion with memory, and yet its simultaneous selectiveness in what events it records. Yerushalmi argues for the delineation between meaning in history, memory of the past, and the writing of history. In contrast to the Greeks who were inspired to "know" if for nothing else out of curiosity, the sacred text of Israel establishes the religious imperative of remembering to the entire Jewish community. This I believe is the most important contribution of Yerushalmi's work. It is perhaps a simple statement, but reinforces the difference between "Athens and Jerusalem" on yet another point.

This book enjoys a well-deserved reputation as a classic in the field of Jewish studies. The author maintains that "Only in Israel and nowhere else is the injunction to remember felt as a religious imperative to an entire people." What follows is a brilliant discussion of the meaning and selectivity of memory in Jewish religious tradition. Yerushalmi then shows how secularization radically transformed the meaning of memory and history for Jews. Writing of the rise of Jewish historiography in early 19th century Germany, he notes: "For the first time it is not history that must prove its utility to Judaism, but Judaism that must prove its validity to history, by revealing and justifying itself historically."

This work has four major chapters each of which deals with a certain period of Jewish history, and its approach to Jewish Memory. In the first chapter Yerushalmi explores the Biblical and Rabbinic Foundations for writing history, and remembering it. This is the stage when the process of remembering is connected with the recording of, and participation in history.
In the second phase, the Middle Ages Yerushalmi outlines the major division which dominates the work, between processes of collective memorization through ritual and religious practice which are not connected with everyday historical happening- and between the writing of history which is connected with historical happening. Yerushalmi says that from the time of the fall of the Second Temple and most especially in this period of the Middle Ages, the Jews remember without remembering historical events. The 'collective Zakhor' or command to collective remembrance ( which he says distinguishes the Jewish Religion) is done without writing the history of the people. The history of the people is avoided. The writing of history is considered by Rambam a low form of intellectual endeavor. The process of collective remembering is done through the living of the Jewish holidays each of which connects up with some historical memory. It is done through Memorbuchs of communities which have suffered in the Crusades.
In the third period which comes immediately after the expulsion from Spain i.e. in the beginning of the sixteenth century there is somehow a return to looking at the actual events of contemporary history but this by framing them in world- historical narratives.
The last period Yerushalmi writes about is the modern one in which there is a return to attending to the events of Jewish history. Here the writing of history, what he calls 'historiography' becomes once again a subject of Jewish interest. And this as certain other processes of collective memorization are breaking down i.e. as the Jews are moving away from being a 'faith- community' in the fullest sense of the word.
Yerushalmi here does not go into the question of conflicting narratives of Jewish history. And the very interesting question of the way different kinds of Jews today construct different kinds of narratives of Jewish history as a whole.
This work has a brilliant introduction by Harold Bloom.
The work itself is recognized as a classic of modern Jewish scholarship.
I conclude with one small piece of Yerushalmi 's writing.

"When I spoke earlier of the coincidence of the rise of modern Jewish histiography and the decay of Jewish memory, I had in mind the specific kind of memory of the past, that of Jewish tradition. But hardly any Jew today is without some Jewish past. Total amnesia: is still relatively rare. The choices for Jews , as for non- Jewsis not whether or not to have a past, but rather-what kind of past shall one have."

This book blew me away. It is worth every cent even if all you do is look at the pictures. This book inspired me to become a geologist.

The study of Mount St. Helens is detailed and easy to follow. My friend got this book and now I am going to for a college resarch project. It provides the graphics and information necessary to get a good look at such a fantastic event of nature.

This is not an overall guide comparable to 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest (Rich Landers). This is specifically geared to how to get to the highest mountains in Eastern Washington. And while many are quite popular - others are virtually unknown. If you want a secluded hike with a great view, this book will do that. The descriptions to the trailhead are good and carefully note private land ownership considerations. I wish the book mentioned whether the trails and peaks are protected from further development; many of these areas are wild forests but threatened by logging or road-building. If you already own 100 Hikes, this is a good companion especially if you like solitude and a trail less traveled.

50 Hikes For Eastern Washington's Highest Mountains is a no-nonsense and "user firendly" guide to the highest and wildest hiking spots in Eastern Washington by hiker and photographer James P. Johnson. Enhanced by color photographs and trail maps, as well as descriptions for the top of each summit, instructions for traveling to each hike, and so much more, 50 Hikes For Eastern Washington's Highest Mountains is an excellent motivational guide to bestir backpackers and armchair travelers to go out and experiencing what nature has to offer them by way of scenic recreation.

This is a great guide to trail running in general and to the trails of Washington. It will appeal to the hardened veteran, the novice, or even the armchair runner. Walkers and hikers will also find it a good resource. General trail running information, equipment, cautions and rewards are discussed in the front section of the book. The trails are regionalized for quick access. Through use of maps, elevation charts, photos, and difficulty ratings it is easy to tell at a glance which trail fits your time frame and energy level on any given day. Rather than a bland description, a bit of history, geology and humor is included to make each trail more personal and enticing. The photos give a great preview of the beauty of each trail. If this book doesn't help you get off of the asphalt and enjoy the beauty and spirituality of the wilderness I don't know what will.

As someone who has run a number of the trails described in this book I would say it's a "must have" for anyone who wants to explore some great trail runs in Washington state. The author does a wonderful job of describing the trails, rating their difficulty, highlighting points of interest and even suggesting alternative activities at the same location (e.g. shorter nature trails) for our non-running family and friends!

All the trails I run are covered in this book, and there are dozens described that I can't wait to explore. As an additional bonus there are numerous tips from the author on what type of gear and supplies are useful to a trail runner and tips and tricks to get you "there and back again."

I really liked how well Seattle was described, though in a very general manner. Small glimpses of the city were given and well critiqued. Very helpful, even for relocation.

This is as good as a guidebook can get.

It is concise- it is not a encylopedia volume to lug around town; It is informative- with history of the city and its surroundings, the book is very thorough and written very very well; It is well illustrated- restaurants, hotels, attractions are color-coded differently and there are a ton of great illustrations that really do justice to the charm of the city.

Despite having grown up in Seattle, this book opened my eyes to a whole new world of places to go and restaurants to check out that I previously didn't see.

I would like to shake the hand of the man who put together such a fine guidebook- I have one for the Washington DC area as well!

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You won't find many of the usual right wing nut jobs reviewing this book, because it is very hard to libel documentary evidence. In law, we say "res ipsa loquitor," or "the thing speaks for itself." And this book has delivered the goods: documentary evidence in spades. If you don't come away from this book convinced that at the very least there is a prima facie case for indicting the US military high command, up to and including the shrub and Darth Cheney, on charges of aggravated war crimes and crimes against humanity, then you just haven't paid attention, or, worse, you are part of that portion of humanity--Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pinochet, Pol Pot, etc.--that thinks there is nothing wrong with torture and that, in fact, we should use it more. If that is the case, you will find plenty to warm your heart here.

This book is a great collection of the records of the Bush administration's torture policy. Seeing as it is a collection of documents obtained through FOIA some of it is redacted. This redaction lends the book that air of "what are they trying to cover up." This book would be great for research.

The introduction sets it all out in a nice brief synopsis. Thus, this book has little author influence as to opinion. It allows you to see for yourself.

Adolf Cluss, Architect; From Germany to America.

Even as a coffee-table book, Adolf Cluss - Architect will hold its own, given its graphic layout, excellent illustrations, and readable format. But it is far more than that. For a student of the history of Washington DC, one interested in German-American life, or one with an interest in the public architecture of the 19th century, a reader will find this book hard to put down.

Adolf Cluss admittedly is not a well known name outside of architectural circles and therefore it may surprise the reader to learn that a German immigrant conceived of and directed the construction of the great and splendid Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Institution as well as other public buildings and elegant private mansions in Washington, many of which have escaped the wrecker's ball and are still standing. He put his mark on the skyline of Washington during the latter part of the 19th Century. He was a master of decorative ornate brickwork and soaring spires and seemed to abhor the solid, unbroken plane of any vertical surface. Much of his inspiration seemed to have come from the buildings in his hometown of Heilbronn, Wuerttemberg in Southwestern Germany where he was born in 1825.

He came from a long line of master builders and craftsmen, the son of a prominent builder in their city, and though not wealthy, Cluss's father believed in practical education for his sons. Young Adolf was a tall, handsome and intelligent young man, and perceptive to not only the physical world around him but of ideas and social conditions. On the cusp of the massive industrial revolution that would reshape Germany, he and other young intellectuals became involved with the problems facing the masses of old-line workers - saddle and harness makers, barge operators, etc, who faced lean times as their jobs were replaced by machines.

He joined in with other young men of like radical mind and became involved in the progressive political thinking of the day. They staged rallies which by and large were ignored by the workmen but attracted the attention of ultra-radical thinkers such as Karl Marx. Father Cluss apparently thought it prudent to hie young Adolf off to the New World to afford him a change of scenery but most certainly to keep him out of trouble. He escaped just in time for within months the abortive revolution of 1848 had broken out and many of his contemporaries were imprisoned or had to escape Germany under considerably less favorable circumstances.

Marx apparently saw young Cluss as the most likely of likely recruits to his cause and began a series of correspondence which continued long after he was becoming established in Washington as an up-and-coming architect and designer. Marx perhaps would have been disappointed with Cluss in later years as a leader of world revolution as he became thoroughly enmeshed with the life and times of the "ruling" classes in Washington, acquiring both fame and wealth as a result of his work.

The book provides not only a detailed biographic portrait of his life but displays excellent photographs of his work as well as detailed architectural drawings, street maps and many peripheral photographs of the Washington DC of his day. The cover alone is striking - a portrait of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building done in a way that captures minute detail that only old-time large format plate film could do.

The only person to be personal friends with both Ulysses S. Grant and Karl Marx, the enigmatic architect Adolph Cluss lived in two worlds: the Germany of his youth, which he left after the failure of the 1848 revolutions, and the young American republic, where he came to organize workers and stayed to rebuild its capital city. Scholarly yet accessible, this eloquently illustrated volume illuminates the varied facets of Cluss's previously forgotten career. It puts this remarkable architect back on the historical screen.

Imagine living in a world where life is governed by intricate rituals; a world "balanced so precariously that its harmony [can] be shattered by a whisper" (Wharton); a world ruled by self-declared experts on form, propriety and family history - read: scandal -; where everything is labeled and yet, people are not; where in order not to disturb society's smooth surface nothing is ever expressed or even thought of directly, and where communication occurs almost exclusively by way of symbols, which are unknown to the outsider and, like any secret code, by their very encryption guarantee his or her permanent exclusion.

Such, in faithful imitation of Victorian England, was the society of late 19th century upper class New York. Into this society returns, after having grown up and lived all her adult life in Europe, American-born Countess Ellen Olenska, after leaving a cruel and uncaring husband. She already causes scandal by the mere manner of her return; but not knowing the secret rituals of the society she has entered, she quickly brings herself further into disrepute by receiving an unmarried man, by being seen in the company of a man only tolerated by virtue of his financial success and his marriage to the daughter of one of this society's most respected families, by arriving late to a dinner in which she has expressly been included to rectify a prior general snub, by leaving a drawing room conversation to instead join a gentleman sitting by himself - and worst of all, by openly contemplating divorce, which will most certainly open up a whole Pandora's box of "oddities" and "unpleasantness:" the strongest terms ever used to express moral disapproval in this particular social context. Soon Ellen, who hasn't seen such façades even in her husband's household, finds herself isolated and, wondering whether noone is ever interested in the truth, complains bitterly that "[t]he real loneliness here is living among all these kind people who only ask you to pretend."

Ellen finds a kindred soul in attorney Newland Archer, her cousin May Welland's fiancé, who secretly toys with a more liberal stance, while outwardly endorsing the value system of the society he lives in. Newland and Ellen fall in love - although not before he has advised her, on his employer's and May and Ellen's family's mandate, not to pursue her plans of divorce. As a result, Ellen becomes unreachable to him, and he flees into accelerating his wedding plans with May, who before he met Ellen in his eyes stood for everything that was good and noble about their society, whereas now he begins to see her as a shell whose interior he is reluctant to explore for fear of finding merely a kind of serene emptiness there; a woman whose seemingly dull, passive innocence grinds down every bit of roughness he wants to maintain about himself and who, as he realizes even before marrying her, will likely bury him alive under his own future. Then his passion for Ellen is rekindled by a meeting a year and a half after his wedding, and an emotional conflict they could hardly bear when he was not yet married escalates even further. And only when it is too late for all three of them he finds out that his wife had far more insight (and almost ruthless cleverness) than he had ever credited her with.

Winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize and the first work of fiction written by a woman to be awarded that distinction, "The Age of Innocence" is one of Edith Wharton's most enduringly popular novels; the crown jewel among her subtly satirical descriptions of New York upper class society. By far not as overtly condemning and cynical as the earlier "House of Mirth" (for which Wharton reportedly even saw this later work as a sort of apology), "The Age of Innocence" is a masterpiece of characterization and social study alike: an intricate canvas painted by a master storyteller who knew the society which she described inside out, and who, even though she had moved to France (where she would continue living for the rest of her life) almost a decade earlier, was able to delineate late 19th century New York society's every nuance in pitch-perfect detail, while at the same time - seemingly without any effort at all - also blending together all these minute details into an impeccably composed ensemble that will stay with the reader long after he has turned the last page.

Also recommended:
Wharton: Four Novels (Library of America College Editions)
Edith Wharton: Vol 1. Collected Stories:1891-1910 (Library of America)
Edith Wharton: Vol.2 Collected Stories 1911-1937 (Library of America)
Henry James : Novels 1881-1886: Washington Square, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians (Library of America)
Henry James: Novels 1901-1902: The Sacred Fount / The Wings of the Dove (Library of America)
Ethan Frome
The House of Mirth
Washington Square
The Portrait of a Lady
The Wings of the Dove

It was a glittering, sumptuous time when hypocrisy was expected, discreet infidelity tolerated, and unconventionality ostracized.

That is the Gilded Age, and nobody knew its hypocrises better than Edith Wharton.... and nobody portrayed them as well. "The Age of Innocence" is a trip back in time to the stuffy upper crust of "old New York," taking us through one respectable man's hopeless love affair with a beautiful woman -- and the life he isn't brave enough to have.

Newland Archer, of a wealthy old New York family, has become engaged to pretty, naive May Welland. But as he tries to get their wedding date moved up, he becomes acquainted with May's exotic cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, who has returned home after dumping her cheating husband. At first, the two are just friends, but Newland becomes more and more entranced by the Countess' easy, free-spirited European charm.

After Newland marries May, the attraction to the mysterious Countess and her free, unconventional life becomes even stronger. He starts to rebel in little ways, but he's still mired in a 100% conventional marriage, job and life. Will he become an outcast and go away with the beautiful countess, or will he stick with May and the safe, dull life that he has condemned in others?

There's nothing too scandalous about "Age of Innocence" in a time when starlets acquire and discard boyfriends and husbands like old pantyhose -- it probably wasn't in the 1920s when it was first published. But then, this isn't a book about sexiness and steam -- it's part bittersweet romance, part social satire, and a look at what happens when human beings lose all spontaneity and passion.

Part of this is due to Wharton's portrayal of New York in the 1870s -- opulent, cultured, pleasant, yet so tied up in tradition that few people in it are able to really open up and live. It's a haze of ballrooms, gardens, engagements, and careful social rituals that absolutely MUST be followed, even if they have no meaning. It's a place "where the real thing was never said or done or even thought."

And Wharton writes distant, slightly mocking prose that outlines this sheltered little society. Her writing opens as slowly and beautifully as a rosebud, letting subtle subplots and powerful, hidden emotions drive the story. So don't be discouraged by the endless conversations about flowers, ballrooms, gloves and old family scandals that don't really matter anymore.

In the middle of all this, Newland is a rather dull, intelligent young man who thinks he's unconventional. But he becomes more interesting as he struggles between his conscience and his longing for the Countess. And as "Age of Innocence" winds on, you gradually see that he doesn't truly love the Countess, but what she represents -- freedom from society and convention.

The other two angles of this love triangle are May and Ellen. May is (suitably) pallid and rather dull, though she shows some different sides in the last few chapters. And Ellen is a magnificent character -- alluring, mysterious, but also bewildered by New York's hostility to her ways. And she's even more interesting when you realize that she isn't trying to rebel, but simply being herself.

"Age of Innocence" is a subtle look at life in Gilded Age New York, telling the story of a man desperately in love with a way of life he hasn't got the courage to pursue. Exquisite in its details, painful in its beauty.

Hubertie Pruyn Hamlin was born into an influential Dutch family in Albany, New York near the turn of the century. Her first hand account both of her priviledged life and the dynamics of her family's influence in Upstate New York affairs is absorbing.

For homeschoolers using the Charlotte Mason method, this book offers an invaluable first hand glimpse into New York State history.

Highly recommended!

I truly loved this book. I am a twelve year old girl who on my way home from camp last summer stayed in a hotel called the Desmond in Albany, NY. In the gift shop, I picked it up and my mom bought it for me. I have read all 370 something pages and it is really hard to put down. It tells of "Bertie" and her childhood. She associates Lent with her cousin's birthday because her cousin is now older. I felt the grief she felt in losing her father, for last Spring, the same thing happened to me. She tells of being so happy that she finally got a dress that was red, and not mourning colors. You wish that you had a brother as nice and kind as to buy you treats for good report cards as Jack was. You see the influence Hattie and Jack had on her life. Gosh, it seems like your'e just there