Love, Work, and Death

Reviews / Votes

'Fascinating and erudite . . . The fruit of detailed and extensive research, it succeeds in combining scholarly rigour with vivid readability: the result is a compelling picture of daily life in all its dimensions. . . . Toaff's sympathetic study, by setting the Umbrian Jews of an earlier period in the appropriate social context, allows us to view the more tolerant and complex world which existed . . . There is, perhaps, a lesson here for the Jewish historiography of our own time too.'
- Mark Mazower, Jewish Book News & Reviews 'A very thoroughly documented and most readable presentation . . . The Jews of Umbria and Love, Work, and Death constitute two very important and complementary contributions to the reconstruction of a significant and interesting chapter in the history of Jewish life in the pre-modern Diaspora by a scholar thoroughly at home in the relevant languages, literatures, and methodologies. Moreover, the English translation of Love, Work, and Death further opens up the history of the Jews of the Italian peninsula to the reader without Italian. Finally, while most welcome for its own sake, in a wider context, Professor Toaff's work marks an important contribution to the comparative analysis of different Jewish societies over the ages.'
- Benjamin Ravid, Jewish Quarterly Review 'Professor Toaff is the acknowledged master of the social history of Umbrian Jewry. . . . It is to be hoped that the new ideas interspersed in Toaff's presentation will stimulate further research and yield fresh perspectives on medieval Jewish society and culture.'
- David Malkiel, Journal of Jewish Studies 'The book has much improved in its English translation: including an index (mandatory item) and a rich bibliography, both lacking in the original edition . . . Toaff is well versed in both Latin and Hebrew sources, and is able to present an impressive picture of the Jewish minority.'
- Alessandra Veronese, Mediterranean Historical Review