This masterwork of interpretative history begins with a bold declaration: “The Modern Age is the Jewish Age, and the twentieth century, in particular, is the Jewish Century.” The assertion is, of course, metaphorical. But it drives home Yuri Slezkine’s provocative thesis: Jews have adapted to the modern world so well that they have become models of what it means to be modern. While focusing on the drama of the Russian Jews, including émigrés and their offspring, The Jewish Century is also an incredibly original account of the many faces of modernity—nationalism, socialism, capitalism, and liberalism. Rich in its insight, sweeping in its chronology, and fearless in its analysis, this is a landmark contribution to Jewish, Russian, European, and American history.

“[A] richly detailed study that aims not only to recast our understanding of the modern Jewish predicament but of the modern predicament as a whole.”—Daniel Lazare, The Nation
“To come across a daring, original, sweeping work of history in this age of narrow specialization is not just a welcome event; it is almost a sensation.”—Walter Laqueur, Los Angeles Times
“Brilliant. . . . The Jewish Century is history on a majestic scale. . . . The clarity of analysis is extraordinary.”—Noah Efron, Jerusalem Report
“Fascinating. . . . One of the most innovative and intellectually stimulating books in Jewish studies in years.”—Publishers Weekly
“Brilliant and provocative.”—Rachel Polonsky, Standpoint
“A masterly work.”—Marc Dollinger, Journal of American History

Yuri Slezkine is the Jane K. Sather Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of The House of Government: A Saga of the Russian Revolution (Princeton).