History REVIEWS American dictator, supported the project.) A JEWISH PIRATES throughout Jewish history. From early biblical bilingual (Spanish and English) exhibition OF THE CARIBBEAN: references, to the iconic sandal of the modern held at The Museum of Jewish Heritage in HOW A GENERATION Jewish kibbutzniks, we learn that the shoe is New York City accompanied the launching of OF SWASHBUCKLING indeed a reflection into the “soul” of the Jew. the book. JEWS CARVED OUT From biblical times, shoes have played an Marion A. Kaplan, author of Beyond Dig- AN EMPIRE IN THE integral role in the relationship of the chosen nity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany, NEW WORLD IN people to their God. It is the command that organizes her history into seven well defined THEIR QUEST Moses remove his shoes that preceded God’s chapters in chronological order. The photo- FOR TREASURE, conveying his plan to deliver his people out of graphs of life on the farm emphasize the role RELIGIOUS FREEDOM—AND REVENGE slavery. The role of the shoe in Jewish tradition- of agriculture in the endeavor. Indeed it was Edward Kritzler al rituals is also examined in the course of sev- farming that was the driving force of the set- Doubleday, 2008. 324 pp. $26.00 eral articles. The halitzah ceremony invoked in tlement, giving Jews a new vocation that ISBN: 978-0-385-57398-2 the book of Deuteronomy requires that a child- enabled them to exist and even thrive in this less widow remove the shoe of the brother of haven. If the story of the Jews of Sosúa is a ith its alluring cover, Jewish Pirates of the her deceased husband if he refuses to marry her. model for implementing a resettlement pro- WCaribbean promises a rollicking tale The strange shoe shaped tombstones that gram, Marion Kaplan’s concise, organized about lovable rogues who cherished the faith appear throughout Jewish cemeteries in the history serves as an ideal way of telling such a while collecting booty. It delivers that and more. Ukraine are viewed by the author as symbolic story. Bibliography, endnotes, index, photos, Driven to find new homes, Iberian Jews of the desire for messianic redemption. timeline. SaMB financed and accompanied the explorers, set- Shoes have also been a way for Jews to dis- tling all over South America and the islands. tinguish themselves from the Gentile popula- As Christian converts they formed secretly tion amongst whom they lived for genera- allied Jewish communities. tions. Whether self imposed or forced upon In the Mediterranean they established them by the people in whose midst they large ghettoes in major ports. Since money- dwelt, the disparity in footwear was used to IRAQ’S LAST JEWS: changing was forbidden to Catholics and mark the Jew as the “other.” In Muslim lands, STORIES OF DAILY Moslems, Jews minted coins, collected taxes, for instance, footwear and at times barefoot LIFE, UPHEAVAL, made loans, and financed ventures. ness were imposed upon Jews to humiliate AND ESCAPE FROM Those who are chiefly familiar with Ashke- them as non-Muslims. MODERN BABYLON nazi history will be painfully surprised to read Memorialized in prose and literature, the Tamar Morad, Dennis Shasha & of the Jewish experience in South America, Jewish cobbler of the European shtetl is an Robert Shasha, eds. with the pressure of the Inquisition and con- omnipresent figure throughout the period of Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. 220 pp. $79.95 stant rejection by older settlers. the Diaspora. The uncertainty associated with ISBN: 978-0-23060-810-8 Kritzler concludes with this editorial com- earning a decent living is a theme present in ment: “Welcome us and we will make you all such literature. Yet, the humble shoemaker hile the history of Holocaust survivors rich.” Suffused by the aura of the conquistadors, never bemoans his fate, but keeps working to Whas been extensively recorded, this book suggests class projects or gifts; libraries the light of the dimming candle. researched, and documented, the history of should also note that it has scholarly weight. JW After reading Jews and Shoes, one will no the Jews of Iraq has not had nearly the same longer view that essential part of the exposure. So it’s interesting to learn about wardrobe as a mere item of necessity. One various facets of Iraqi society and the colorful will marvel at the pivotal role the shoe has individuals who lived there. Iraq’s Last Jews played in the psyche and community of the introduces us to some of them—a selection of chosen people. PL prominent bankers, famous musicians, and average people who describe their lives in Iraq—what prompted them to leave their country of origin and how they fared in other countries after their departure. JEWS AND SHOES With stories told in their own words or in Edna Nahshon the words of their children, Iraq’s Last Jews is Berg, 2008. 288 pp. $34.95 LANDMARK OF an intense piece of literature that feels well ISBN: 978-1-84788-09-9 THE SPIRIT: THE suited to academic research on the subject but ELDRIDGE STREET doesn’t qualify as a good bedtime story unless ould the wanderings of the Jews in the SYNAGOGUE you have a keen interest in history, and in this Wdesert have been any less onerous if only Annie Pollard; Bill Moyers, fwd. history specifically. But it does cast a new they had had comfortable walking shoes? In Jews Yale University Press, 2008. 192 pp. $35.00 light on Iraq and the country’s recent past, as and Shoes, an anthology of articles examining the ISBN: 978-0300124705 seen through the eyes of people who were relationship between the chosen people and the, ultimately forced to flee and make new lives at times mundane, and at times holy indispensa- n New York’s Chinatown, surrounded by abroad. LK ble item of dress, we learn of the role of the shoe Itenements and small shops, stands the www.jewishbookcouncil.org Summer 5769/2009 Jewish Book World 31.