Part ethnography; part history; and part memoir; this volume chronicles the complex past and dynamic present of an ancient Mizrahi community. While intimately tied to the Central Asian landscape; the Jews of Bukhara have also maintained deep connections to the wider Jewish world. As the community began to disperse after the fall of the Soviet Union; Alanna E. Cooper traveled to Uzbekistan to document Jewish life before it disappeared. Drawing on ethnographic research there as well as among immigrants to the US and Israel; Cooper tells an intimate and personal story about what it means to be Bukharan Jewish. Together with her historical research about a series of dramatic encounters between Bukharan Jews and Jews in other parts of the world; this lively narrative illuminates the tensions inherent in maintaining Judaism as a single global religion over the course of its long and varied diaspora history.
#298101 in Books 2008-12-12Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .60 x 6.00l; .65 #File Name: 0252076303200 pages
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Very interesting!By Rebecca EmmonsI used this book as a source for a college paper about African American foodways. This book is fascinating and provided so much information on a variety of subjects; including original sources of "Southern" American foods; and preparation methods that have their roots in Africa and the Caribbean. I have not read all the essays in this book; as they did not all apply toward my particular topic; but I am very impressed with the editing; the selection of essays; and the topic coverage in the essays I did read. If you are interested in the ways African American cooking methods and preferences have changed in the past 100 years; I would recommend reading "The Food of a Younger Land;" edited by Mark Kurlansky; along with this book. "Building Houses out of Chicken Legs" by Psyche A. Williams-Forson is also excellent.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Reading for classBy Pamela M. MorrisUse in class.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. InterestingBy Big Sistah PattyI guess I had an appreciation for a writer who writes for the masses; no pretense. I relatively enjoyed this book. I appreciated some author's more than others. I am blaming it on style of writing.My favorite contribution was Chicken and Chains by Pyche Wilson-Forson. I am interested enough to find the book and read it in its entirety. I also enjoyed Excavating the South's African American History by Anne Yentsch.
