1st Volume of Extensive History of Jewish Literature Completed

The first volume of a comprehensive work dealing with the history of Jewish literature, which is to be in two volumes, has just appeared. It is the first of its kind to be published in English and covers the sixteen centuries from the close of the Bible to the end of the classic period, the year 1200 of the Christian era.

In this work, Dr. Meyer Waxman of Chicago, the author, unrolls before the reader the pages of hundreds of books produced by various representatives of Jewish genius during the centuries and presents their contents in a scholarly but clear style. It is a history of literature and not of books, in the fullest sense of the word, inasmuch as it gives a complete view of the spiritual and cultural development of the Jewish people during this period. It deals with all phases of Jewish literature and with all expressions of the spirit of Israel.

The Jewish Apocryphal and Apocalyptic works, the Mishna, the Talmud, mediaeval Jewish poetry, mysticism and Agadaic books, Jewish philosophy and ethics, Rabbinic literature and many other subjects are discussed and extensively described.

Some of the chapters are monographs on the subjects dealt with, one of them being a complete history of Jewish philosophy from Saadia to Maimonides, and another covers the entire Rabbinic literature from the close of the Talmud to the end of the twelfth century.

The book contains an index and bibliography, chronological tables and illustrations, including a map of the great literary centers during the ages.