{"product_id":"the-first-ghetto-venice-and-the-origins-of-modern-antisemitism","title":"The First Ghetto: Venice and the Origins of Modern Antisemitism","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAlexander Lee \u003c\/b\u003eis a prize-winning historian at the University of Warwick. He is the author of five acclaimed books, including \n\u003ci\u003eMachiavelli: His Life and Times\u003c\/i\u003e (a \n\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book of the Year). He writes a column for \n\u003ci\u003eHistory Today\u003c\/i\u003e and appears frequently on television, radio, and podcasts. Lee is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He lives in France.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"...incisive new book, The First Ghetto, an engaging and illuminating account of six hundred years of Jewish history in Venice.\"\u003c\/p\u003e-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew Criterion\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Fascinating...an engrossing tale of cruel prejudice and resilience...Bravo.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTimes (UK)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"In this fascinating history...Lee conjures up the Adriatic seaport in all its strange glory...This admirable book offers a poignant testimony to a people who have approached annihilation many times.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSpectator (UK)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A stunning account of a dark history...magnificent.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"An important and timely book.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eDaily Telegraph (UK)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Remarkable...a rollercoaster history.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eJewish Chronicle\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A splendid account, whose vitality, resourcefulness, and variety of detail will make it hard to rival.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLiterary Review (UK)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Rich, absorbing, and so beautifully written.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNadeem Aslam, Booker-longlisted author of The Golden Legend\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"More than a history of a city, the book is a chronicle of a condition, an elegy for Jewish life lived in the paradox of family flourishing and civic exclusion....A richly researched history of Italian Jewry and its will to live on.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Brilliantly researched and deeply moving, this history of the Jews of Venice makes a significant and much needed contribution to the city's story.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eRoger Crowley, author of 1453\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\" \n\u003ci\u003eThe First Ghetto\u003c\/i\u003e is the most accessible history of this renowned Venetian quarter. Alexander Lee combines expertise in Venetian history with sensibility to the Jewish past and a gift for storytelling. Highly recommended.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eMiri Rubin, author of The Middle Ages\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Embattled and persistent, the Jewish community of Venice played a fascinatingly rich role in the city's cultural and economic life. In Alexander Lee, they have found their true and elegant historian.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eJudith Mackrell, author of The Unfinished Palazzo\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A sweep-ing and ambi-tious his-to-ry that chal-lenges many of the assump-tions this sub-ject invites....Rather than trac-ing a straight line from exclu-sion to cat-a-stro-phe, Lee recon-structs a far more con-tin-gent and unsta-ble his-to-ry, fol-low-ing its evo-lu-tion through cycles of cri-sis, adap-ta-tion, and rein-ven-tion across the centuries....For read-ers won-der-ing how such things hap-pen, and keep hap-pen-ing, this book is an essen-tial and unset-tling place to begin.\"\u003c\/p\u003e-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eJewish Book Council\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFrom an acclaimed historian, the definitive story of the Venetian Ghetto and the emergence of modern antisemitism. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"More than a history of a city, the book is a chronicle of a condition, an elegy for Jewish life lived in the paradox of family flourishing and civic exclusion .... A richly researched history of Italian Jewry and its will to live on.\" \u003ci\u003e―Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In the early sixteenth century, amidst the ruins of war and mounting religious hatred, the world's first Jewish \"ghetto\" was established in Venice. Constrained in cramped, often unsanitary conditions, the Jews who were forced to live there were extorted, abused, and subjected to countless humiliating restrictions. In the centuries that followed, the Venetian Ghetto would become the prototype for ghettos throughout Europe--and pave the way for modern antisemitism. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But this is also a tale of hope. Against the odds, the Ghetto's residents thrived, creating a vibrant literary, musical, and religious community. They became essential to the survival of Venice itself--and as more Jewish refugees arrived, the Ghetto became a microcosm of the Jewish world. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Tracing its story from its medieval origins to the present day, historian Alexander Lee explores the Ghetto through the eyes of its Jewish inhabitants, from the domestic troubles of a seventeenth-century rabbi to the agonizing wait of a family bound for Auschwitz. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Authoritative, detailed, and timely, this definitive history shows what happens when war and economics collide with hatred--and also offers a powerful warning for the future.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 02\/15\/2026 (EAN 9781541608771, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/01\/2026 pg. 78 (EAN 9781541608771, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Basic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496015692054,"sku":"9781541608771","price":40.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781541608771.jpg?v=1783050627","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-first-ghetto-venice-and-the-origins-of-modern-antisemitism","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}