Description: Professor Geoffrey Alderman is the acknowledged authority on the history of the Jews in modern Britain. During an academic career spanning forty years he has produced some of the most authoritative and controversial studies in this field, lighting up the dark corners of the Jewish existence in Great Britain and revealing secrets the Anglo-Jewish communities would rather have kept from public view. In Controversy and Crisis, Alderman presents sixteen of these essays, covering fields as disparate as the history of the Jewish vote in the UK, the true story of the British Chief Rabbinate, and the uneasy tenure of Sir Jonathan Sacks in that office. He also considers the role of the historian in Anglo-Jewish life, and the troubled careers of some of its leaders and scholars.
Review Quotes: "This anthology is a showcase for Alderman's achievements as an historian, and a lesson in how to write minority history...a lively collection that combines essays of the highest scholarship with courageous journalism."--D. Cesarani, Royal Holloway, University of London in EHR, cxxv. 513 (Apr. 2010)