K. E. Fleming's Greece--a Jewish History is the first comprehensive English-language history of Greek Jews; and the only history that includes material on their diaspora in Israel and the United States. The book tells the story of a people who for the most part no longer exist and whose identity is a paradox in that it wasn't fully formed until after most Greek Jews had emigrated or been deported and killed by the Nazis. For centuries; Jews lived in areas that are now part of Greece. But Greek Jews as a nationalized group existed in substantial number only for a few short decades--from the Balkan Wars (1912-13) until the Holocaust; in which more than 80 percent were killed. Greece--a Jewish History describes their diverse histories and the processes that worked to make them emerge as a Greek collective. It also follows Jews as they left Greece--as deportees to Auschwitz or émigrés to Palestine/Israel and New York's Lower East Side. In such foreign settings their Greekness was emphasized as it never was in Greece; where Orthodox Christianity traditionally defines national identity and anti-Semitism remains common.
#144422 in Books Gresham M Sykes 2007-04-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.40 x .70 x 5.40l; .52 #File Name: 0691130647200 pagesThe Society of Captives A Study of a Maximum Security Prison
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Beautifully writtenBy MapacheBeautiful; gorgeous; clear sociological writing. FEELS like a classic. Makes you feel nostalgic for a moment in the social sciences when people just theorized all kinds of high-level things about power and humanity without any apparent self-consciousness or "Limits of This Study" notes--and made you believe them.Also a must-read for anyone interested in the modern prison system. The author of one of the introductions or forewords talks about teaching this book in a prison classroom and talking about what's changed and what hasn't--That would be a dream.9 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Important Precursor to Goffman and FoucaultBy S. PactorNo reviews for this book? Hard to believe given the number of used copies available. Surely many have read "Society of Captives"?Sykes uses the sociological framework of Talcott Parsons to analyze the "life of prison" in terms of its effects on the inmates. Sykes was obviously a key reference point for Goffman's work in "Asylums". Sykes works around the idea of describing a maximum security prison as a "total institution"; but fails to really nail the concept down.He makes some interesting observations about the conflicting motives of guards on the front line of the prison. I found troubling his conclusion that the level of control sought to be imposed upon the prisoners was ever elusive. This seemed; to me; to be a justification for the behavior that goes on behind prison walls.His interesting discussion of prison riot and rebellion prefigures some of Foucault's analysis in "Discipline and Punish". In fact; I picked up my copy of Discipline and Punish immediately after (and during) reading this book and found the effect to be akin to a light bulb going on in my head.While Sykes lacks the conclusions of Foucault; his simplified analysis of the structure of prison makes reading Foucault's "Discipline and Punish" about 100% easier.Here is not the place for a more detailed comparison between the two books. None the less; any committed reader of Discipline and Punish should feel compelled to digest this book: After all; it only costs a buck and can be read in a single afternoon!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Society of CaptivesBy jbrown_14105Yes I am using it with teaching a prison ministry course
