From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a masterful new biography of Theodor Herzl by an eminent historian of Zionism "An excellent, concise biography of Theodor Herzl, architect of modern Zionism. . . . An exceptionally good, highly readable volume."--Publishers Weekly, starred review "An engrossing account of a leader who, by converting despair into strength, gave an exiled people both political purpose and the means to attain it."--Benjamin Balint, Wall Street Journal The life of Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) was as puzzling as it was brief. How did this cosmopolitan and assimilated European Jew become the leader of the Zionist movement? How could he be both an artist and a statesman, a rationalist and an aesthete, a stern moralist yet possessed of deep, and at times dark, passions? And why did scores of thousands of Jews, many of them from traditional, observant backgrounds, embrace Herzl as their leader? Drawing on a vast body of Herzl's personal, literary, and political writings, historian Derek Penslar shows that Herzl's path to Zionism had as much to do with personal crises as it did with antisemitism. Once Herzl devoted himself to Zionism, Penslar shows, he distinguished himself as a consummate leader--possessed of indefatigable energy, organizational ability, and electrifying charisma. Herzl became a screen onto which Jews of his era could project their deepest needs and longings. About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award. More praise for Jewish Lives: "Excellent." - New York times "Exemplary." - Wall St. Journal "Distinguished." - New Yorker "Superb." - The Guardian

Theodor Herzl: Old New Land. (AltNeuLand) First print Leipzig 1902. Translated by Dr. David Simon Blondheim, Federation of American Zionists, 1916 Vollständige Neuausgabe. Herausgegeben von Karl-Maria Guth. Berlin 2015. Umschlaggestaltung von Thomas Schultz-Overhage unter Verwendung des Bildes: Paul Gauguin, Am Fusse des Berges, 1892. Gesetzt aus Minion Pro, 11 pt.

Born in Budapest in 1860, Theodor Herzl was a daydreamer who aspired to follow the footsteps of De Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal. As the Paris correspondent for Neue Freie Presse, Herzl followed the Dreyfus Affair, a notorious anti-Semitic incident in France in which a French Jewish army captain was falsely convicted of spying for Germany. Herzl came to reject his early ideas regarding Jewish emancipation and assimilation, and to believe that the Jews must remove themselves from Europe and create their own state. In 1896, he published 'The Jewish State' to immediate acclaim. This is his story.

"This Very Short Introduction discloses a history of Zionism from the origins of modern Jewish nationalism in the 1870's to the present. Michael Stanislawski provides a lucid and detached analysis of Zionism, focusing on its internal intellectual and ideological developments and divides"--

Born in Budapest to a well-to-do assimilated Jewish family, Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) and his family moved to Vienna when he was 18. He studied law before he began writing plays and pieces of journalism. Herzl became the Paris correspondent for Vienna’s leading newspaper, the Neue Freie Presse, and covered the Dreyfus affair, which shocked and galvanized him to write The Jewish State: An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question, published in 1896. After the first Zionist congress of 1897, Herzl wrote in his diary: “In Basel I founded the Jewish state. If I said this aloud today, I would be answered by universal laughter. Perhaps in five years, and certainly in fifty, everyone will agree.” “A great dramatic biography.” — Alfred Kazin, The New York Times “Any reader familiar with the sources can appreciate the brilliance, restraint and fidelity of Elon’s narrative... the excitement of events and the quality of their prime mover come through admirably.” — The New Republic “You could not put the book down without admiring Theodor Herzl’s courage and practical achievements — his romance turned into a Congress, a bank, a diplomacy.” — Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker “A quite astonishing portrait... positively rewarding” — Kirkus Reviews “Elon’s 1975 biography of Herzl... vividly portrayed the man with all his quirks, inventiveness and shortcomings” — Lawrence Joffe, The Guardian “considered one of the best biographies to date of Zionist founder Theodor Herzl” — Benjamin Spier, Jerusalem Post “arguably the best biography ever written of the founding father of Zionism, Theodore Herzl” — Tom Segev, Ha’aretz “A fascinating book ... it has the fascination of a novel on the grand scale.” — Arthur Miller, Washington Post “A skillfully written human look at the man whose life reads like a novel...” — Miami Herald

You would think that everything there is to say about Theodor Herzl, father of modern Zionism, has already been written and published. In fact, the rampant misunderstandings and downright distortions of the man can be seen as the clearest symptoms of the identity crisis that afflicts Israeli society today. More than a century after Herzl s death, the time has come to remove the various masks that still obscure his true face and to restore the Jewish and universal dimensions to his enterprise. Such is the goal of the present study by Dr. Yitshak Weisz, the product of more than eight years of research. This is not just another biography of Herzl, but an incisive critique of everything that has been written in the past and an invitation to take a close new look at the body of his work. From this novel and even bold new reading emerges a new Herzl, revitalized for the twenty-first century.

"An original and brilliant thesis, exposing a long misunderstood figure. A great book." -- Bernard Avishai "Excellent... a highly revealing portrait that demolishes Herzl-the-icon." -- Michael Marrus "Other biographers... have illuminated aspects of [Herzl's] life, but none has been able to produce the kind of intellectual biography that we have here. Jacques Kornberg has done an admirable job of plumbing the depths of Herzl's mind to try to come to an understanding of just why he became a Zionist and why he was literally consumed with promoting Zionist goals." -- Cithara "With compassion and critical balance, placing his subject well within his Austrian milieu, Kornberg analyzes Herzl's rhetoric, tergiversations, and profound ambivalence over his politics and identity."Â -- Choice "... a masterful display of the sources... " -- American Historical Review "... stimulating, provocative and agreeably iconoclastic... powerful and compelling." -- German History A novel and provocative explanation of Theodor Herzl's founding of Zionism as a way of resolving his personal crisis over his Jewish identity.

Just over 100 years ago, Theodor Herzl launched the Zionist movement. Fifty years later, after the Holocaust, the State of Israel came into being, established so that Jews anywhere in the world could have a homeland. Yet in the years since, five wars have tested Israel's ability to survive. Influxes of emigrants added to the country's cultural riches yet strained its social fabric, even as Israel's Arab neighbors sought to redress their own grievances through violence. Now Israel's fascinating story is told by renowned historian Martin Gilbert, enhanced with 15 rare facsimile documents, some of which have never before been published.