Description: In this examination of the myth of the Jewish Pope in four Yiddish literary texts dating from between 1602 and 1943, Sherman explores to what extent Yiddish language and literature derive from the dominant values of mainstream European culture.
Review Quotes: Although I cannot concur fully with all of Sherman s conclusions, the building-blocks of his narrative (the examination of the Joseph story as the master narrative of the Jewish Pope myth, as well as the analyses of individual reworkings of the myth) are truly insightful, meticulously researched, and masterfully argued. His book is an important contribution to Jewish literary and cultural studies and will also be of great interest to students and scholars of folklore.--Elizabeth Loentz "Modern Language Review, 100.4, October 2005, 1160-62 ""