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Published Oct 2013
400 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
With cinematic power and beauty, bestselling author David Laskin brings to life the upheavals of the twentieth century through the story of one family, three continents, two world wars, and the rise and fall of nations.
A century and a half ago, a Torah scribe and his wife raised six children in a yeshivatown at the western fringe of the Russian empire. Bound by their customs and ancient faith, the pious couple expected their sons and daughter to carry family traditions into future generations. But the social and political crises of our time decreed otherwise.
The torrent of history took the scribe's family down three very different roads. One branch immigrated to America and founded the fabulously successful Maidenform Bra Company; another went to Palestine as pioneers and participated in the contentious birth of the state of Israel; the third branch remained in Europe and suffered the onslaught of the Nazi occupation.
In tracing the roots of this family - his own family - Laskin captures the epic sweep of the twentieth century. A modern-day scribe, Laskin honors the traditions, the lives, and the choices of his ancestors: revolutionaries and entrepreneurs, scholars and farmers, tycoons and truck drivers. The Family is a deeply personal, dramatic, and emotional account of people caught in a cataclysmic time in world history.
"A gripping epic narrative, beginning in 1875 and spanning over a century." - Publishers Weekly
"[Laskin's] compelling narrative brings these individuals to life as awe witness their triumphs and tragedies in vivid detail and at times in their own voices." - Library Journal
"An ambitious, experimental look at exodus, acclimatization and culture with a cast as diverse as any family photo album…Were this fiction, it would read much like the novels of Leon Uris and other spinners of historical sagas." - Kirkus
"A deeply felt story filled with the joy and sadness that has characterized Jewish life in this period." - Booklist
"What a story! Scholars and scribes, Zionists and revolutionaries, Holocaust martyrs and the inventors of the Maidenform bra all march through these pages." - Jonathan D. Sarna, Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University
"A banquet of Jewish history, as lived by one exceptional American family, across four generations and on three continents, the worst things endured and the best things relished." - Edward Ball, author of Slaves in the Family
"At once heartbreaking and gloriously triumphant... a story of love. Yes, a big unyielding, often rollicking and humorous history of one generation's prevailing love for the next. A wonderful achievement." - Philip Schultz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Failure
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo by Jacqueline M Koch
David Laskin was born in New York in 1953 and educated at Harvard College and New College, Oxford. He worked in the editorial department of Bantam Books before becoming a freelance writer. For the past several years, Laskin has written books and articles on a wide range of subjects, including history, weather, travel, gardens, and the natural world.
A frequent contributor to The New York Times Travel Section, Laskin also writes for the Washington Post, the Seattle Times, and Seattle Metropolitan. He and his wife, Kate O'Neill are the parents of three grown daughters and live in Seattle with their two sweet old dogs.
His works include The Parents Book for New Fathers, A Common Life: Four Generations of American Literary Friendship and Influence, The Reading Group Book, Rains All the Time:...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to David Laskin's Website
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