“The modern era is the Jewish era, and the twentieth century is the Jewish century,” the author asserts. The book by the famous historian, professor at the University of California at Berkeley Yuri Slezkine explains the reasons for the amazing success and unique vulnerability of Jews in the modern world; considers Marxism and Freudianism as attempts to solve the Jewish question; analyzes the transformation of the Jewish genocide into a worldwide symbol of absolute evil; traces the history of the Jewish revolution in the depths of the Russian revolution and describes three pilgrimages that followed the collapse of the Russian Pale of Settlement and embody three paths of development of modern society: to the United States, a stronghold of uncompromising liberalism; to Palestine, the Promised Land of radical nationalism; to the cities of the USSR, free from both liberalism and tribal exclusivity. A significant part of the book is devoted to the Soviet choice - a choice that began with the greatest success and turned into the greatest disappointment. An eccentric book that leads to admiration and sometimes sweet rage... Almost every page contains amazing facts and interpretations... Slezkine's book is one one of the most original and intellectually provoking books on Jewish culture in many years. Publishers Weekly

To find a fearless, original, large-scale historical work in this age of narrow specialization is not just a remarkable event. It's almost a sensation. This is precisely the book by UC Berkeley professor Yuri Slezkine...Los Angeles Times

An important, provocative and brilliant book... It amazes with incredible erudition, literary grace and, most importantly, big ideas. The Jewish Journal (Los Angeles)