Discussion questions for outwitting history by aaron lansky. Aaron lanskys outwitting history presents an interesting countertrend to modern habits of reading. While you may think you know some of historys most famous historical figures, the typical textbook leaves much to be desired. In 1980 an entire body of jewish literaturethe physical remnant of yiddish culturewas on the verge of extinction. Filled with poignant and often laughoutloud tales from. History books for children shall be sorted with childhist book stub. Thousands of volumes were thus being consigned to dum. Today, more than a million books later, he has accomplished what has been called the greatest cultural rescue effort in jewish history. How a young man rescued a million books and saved a vanishing civilisation has 2 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace.
Outwitting history this true story of a quest to save jewish literature is a detective story, a profound history lesson, and a poignant evocation of a bygone world the boston globe. All the books listed for the financial times and mckinsey business book of the year award. These nine books about numerous topics regarding european histories on a continentwide basis rather than nation states will educate you about europe. Dk eyewitness books cat pdf download full pdf read. This classic defense manual for the besieged birder has been fully updated to deal with the more techsavvy twenty. The amazing adventures of a man who rescued a million yiddish books. Aaron lansky writes in a compelling and engaging manner. Outwitting history is a largely autobiographical account of aaron lanskys life work, physically rescuing works of yiddish literature, from ageing or deceased individuals and organisations, and establishing the yiddish book center. In 1980, a 23yearold student named aaron lansky set out to rescue the worlds abandoned yiddish books before it was too late. Lansky was a 23yearold graduate student in 1980 when he came up with an idea that would take over his life and change the face of jewish literary culture. It is not for stubs of historical articles for that purpose, please use category. Part history, part social history, part travelogue, this is such a fascinating book that the minute i read the last sentence i immediiately turned to the front page and started again. Outwitting history is a book of immense power, told about the saving of a peoples literature from oblivion.
The humorous scene that follows highlights the central theme of difference and similarity. This category is for stub articles about nonfiction history books. Outwitting history book chapel hill public library. Nov 17, 2009 outwitting history documents lanskys journey to find and rescue these books. In 1980 an entire body of jewish literaturethe physical remnant of yiddish culturewas on the verge. History stubs or its subcategories, nor is it for historical novels for that purpose, please use category. Financial fraud from tulip mania to bernie madoff by david e. Just as some books examine a country or a region, others discuss the continent or at least very large parts of it as. According to the book, at age 23 lansky read that thousands of the few remaining yiddish books in north america were being discarded by the children of the books original yiddishspeaking owners. Outwitting history inspires longing for an era that valued books over bookshelf space. To browse pdf files, you need adobe acrobat reader.
Outwitting squirrels ebook pdf download and read online. Dk eyewitness books cat pdf download full pdf read book page. Filled with poignant and often laughoutloud tales from lanskys travels across the country collecting books from older jewish immigrants, outwitting history also introduces us to a dazzling array of writers and shows us how an almostlost culture is the bridge between the old world and the future. I walked into a small bookstore and the owner recommended it to me you simply cannot get this kind of service from the major. For 25 years, outwitting squirrels has been leading the charge to help bird lovers defend their feeders. This true story of a quest to save jewish literature is a detective story, a profound history lesson, and a poignant evocation of a bygone world the boston globe. Outwitting history outwitting history audiobook, by aaron lansky. The amazing adventures of a man who rescued a million. Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products. Mar 02, 2005 outwitting history is the charming and compelling epic about how lansky and a few volunteers saved yiddish books from extinction. A pdf is a type of computer file used to restrict a file to exactly how you want others to see it. Nmajh museum store outwitting history by aaron lansky. Outwitting history the amazing adventures of a man who rescued a million yiddish books book. For that matter, before reading outwitting history, i couldnt tell you if yiddish was a distinct language, or just another name for hebrew.
Outwitting history, by aaron lansky the independent. Your browser and computer can replace the font style and other fo. Engaging firstperson account of how some committed young people rescued from history s dustbin more than a million books published in yiddish. Discussion questions for outwitting history by aaron lansky from the massachusetts center for the book 1. The books meant nothing to many of those who had inherited them, as they had no knowledge of yiddish. Outwitting history is an adventure tale filled with unforgettable characters and told with the exuberance of a man whose passion led him from house to house, country to country, collecting treasured books and heartfelt, often hilarious stories of the vibrant intellectual world these older jews inhabited. The book s subtitle provides only a glimpse of what lansky, and the center, has accomplished, and will do.
Jan 01, 2004 part history, part social history, part travelogue, this is such a fascinating book that the minute i read the last sentence i immediiately turned to the front page and started again. He opens the book well with a story of an overnight trip to go dumpster diving to save over a 1,000 yiddish books. The amazing adventures of a man who rescued a million yiddish books 1st edition by lansky, aaron 2004 hardcover 5. In outwitting history, lansky shares his adventures as well as the poignant and often laughoutloud stories he heard as he traveled the country collecting books. Aug 21, 20 in fact, i spent the next two days reading outwitting history, written by the centers founder and leader, aaron lansky. These fast, greedy, incredibly crafty, fluffytailed rodents pillage birdfeeders before owners very eyes. This may seem like an esoteric topic, but lansky sets this in its broader context and mixes in entertaining. The new york post what began as a quixotic journey was also a picaresque romp, a detective story, a profound history lesson, and a poignant evocation of a bygone world. Read outwitting history the amazing adventures of a man who rescued a million yiddish books by aaron lansky available from rakuten kobo. The book ends with a brief summary of the beliefs and principles of ikuan tao. The amazing adventures of a man who rescued a million yiddish books kindle edition by lansky, aaron. The amazing adventures of a man who rescued a million yiddish books describes the life work of its author, aaron lansky.
Outwitting history ebook by aaron lansky 9781565126367. How to convert a kindle book to pdf digital trends. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Outwitting history follows lanskys farflung travels and features the engaging men. And the number keeps growing at the yiddish book center, which is set on a tenacre apple orchard at the edge of the hampshire college campus in amherst, massachusetts. Jan 01, 2005 aaron lanskys outwitting history presents an interesting countertrend to modern habits of reading. It is rare to be so captivated by a book from the first moment. In prose that sometimes lurches and jolts along like the overloaded rental trucks that the author and his merry band used to collect books, lansky unfolds a tale of rare emotion and devotion.
The amazing adventures of a man who rescued a million yiddish books as one would expect of a gentile, i dont know any yiddish. W hen aaron lansky started this ambitious project in 1980to rescue yiddish books from certain deathit was thought that there were no more than 70,000 yidisher bikher in existence. This classic defense manual for the besieged birder has been fully updated to deal with the more techsavvy twentyfirstcentury squirrel. Lanskys account of rescuing the literature of a quickly dying language has both sad and triumphant overtones. Horner, who suggested that cubit is the distance between the elbow and the lip of the extended middle finger. This may seem like an esoteric topic, but lansky sets this in its broader context and mixes in entertaining personal vignettes, resulting in a lively book which. Sep 02, 2005 in outwitting history, lansky shares his adventures as well as the poignant and often laughoutloud stories he heard as he traveled the country collecting books. Recipient of the macarthur genius fellowship and founder of the national yiddish book center, lansky recounts his efforts to rescue the worlds abandoned yiddishlanguage books before they pass out of existence.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading outwitting history. Traditional document files are not fixed in terms of how they will display. Lansky and a team of young volunteers crisscrossed america, shlepping books from attics and basements. This true story of a quest to save jewish literature is a detective story, a profound history lesson, and a poignant ev. Perhaps surprisingly, the early modern period of history starts c. But now and again a quite unexpected book draws me in. The amazing adventures of a man who rescued a million jewish books.
This book is the last present i bought my grandfather before he died. Outwitting history, by aaron lansky the worlds yiddish books were facing extinction, until a bold young visionary stepped in. Lansky and a team of young volunteers crisscrossed america, shlepping books from attics and basements, demolition sites and dumpsters, while shmoozing with their owners, who insisted on. Outwitting history by aaron lansky is a book about the authors efforts to rescue a large number of books in the yiddish language from destruction. Introducing us to a dazzling array of writers, he shows us how an almostlost culture is the bridge between the old world and the futureand how the written word can unite everyone. Books were a portable homeland for jews and defined jewish national identity. Want to start reading about french history, but arent sure where to start.
Aaron lansky is to be applauded for what he has succeeded in accomplishing and in relating it to the world in such a powerful way. Amazon locks its kindle ebooks to its kindle devices, but theres a way to convert these files to read them as pdfs. Maitreya buddha in literature history and art pdf download. It lets you view and print pdf files on a variety of hardware and pdf means portable document format. Fun and fascinating facts about famous figures you wont find in history books. On their first trip to new york to look for yiddish books, lansky and his fellow students stop for lunch at the garden cafeteria. Yiddish was the spoken language of the 75% of the worlds jews for the past 1,000 years. In school, having a favorite class was usually dependent on the teacher. In an attempt to cram as much knowledge as possible into the average education, few courses take the time to real. Text and photographs present the anatomy, behavior, habitats, and other aspects of wild and domestic cats. Aaron lansky gives a talk titled outwitting history. Outwitting squirrels ebook pdf download and read online for.
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