Ruth R. Wisse on Jews and Power
- 09.26.2007 - 2:34 PMRuth R. Wisse is a longtime COMMENTARY contributor (and a contentions blogger) and the Martin Peretz professor of Yiddish Literature at Harvard. Her newest book, Jews and Power, was reviewed in the September issue of COMMENTARY by the Wall Street Journal’s Bret Stephens. He wrote:
Jews and Power can . . . serve as a basis for pondering the broader self-doubt, often cloaked in pretensions of superior morality, that today infects much of the liberal democratic West. For providing that lesson, and for doing so with passion, eloquence, and peerless intellectual verve, Ruth Wisse deserves all honor and gratitude.
Last week, Wisse sat with contentions to discuss her new book. She then appeared before a standing-room only audience at Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side for a reading and book signing. You can watch the interview below.
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September 26th, 2007 at 9:53 PM
My father never recieved a college education and would never be confused with a man of letters. He grew up in a rough part of town and was, essentially, a working stiff. I once asked him why he got in so many fights while growing up. He said he fought anyone who flung a Jewish slur his way no matter how big or imposing the anti-semite was. He gave, he said, as good as he got. When I asked him why he never just walked away, he said words to the effect of: “No matter the beating, better to be a lion of Judah than a shtetl schmuck.”
I am looking forward to reading Professor Wisse’s book.