Odessa Memories (Samuel and Althea Stroum Book (Hardcover))

From Booklist
Odessa was founded by Catherine the Great in 1794 and soon became an important center of Jewish culture. This book started out as a collection of postcards of this Russian city on the Black Sea and later came to include illustrations, Jewish periodicals, advertisements, photographs, and circus posters from museums and libraries. There's an essay by Patricia Herlihy and contributions by Bel Kaufman (the granddaughter of Sholem Aleichem, who came from Odessa), Oleg Gubar, and Alexander Rozenboim. Iljine writes that he intended the book's title to remind readers of the vibrant life of the city between the mid-1800s and the Russian Revolution of 1917, since these times were also documented in photographs. Herlihy gives a history of Odessa's nightlife, resorts, theaters, schools, criminal underworld, synagogues, philanthropic societies, phenomenal growth, the colorful mix of ethnic groups, and organizations that provided a defense against pogroms. This opulent book, with 215 illustrations--166 in color--and an informative text, goes a long way in preserving the history of this renowned city. George Cohen
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Book Description
Odessa, the city founded by Catherine the Great in 1794 on the Black Sea, became a thriving international crossroads less than a century after its creation. This virtual "melting pot of Russia"--the gateway to Russia from Constantinople, Athens, Venice, Marseilles, and Genoa, and the third largest metropolis in the country--quickly rose to prominence as a European cultural capital and a vibrant center of Jewish culture. Odessa in its prime shared with St. Petersburg the distinction of being one of the few places in Russia where international ideas and commerce could flourish. In this album of pre-1917 Odessa, Nicolas Iljine has assembled a wealth of old postcards, rare photographs and illustrations from private archives, colorful posters and advertisements, and materials from the Russian National Library that have never before been published, to recapture a lost time in the life of one of the world’s great romantic cities. Historian Patricia Herlihy’s essay paints textured historical tableaux of Odessa’s nightlife and resorts, its theaters and criminal underworld, its schools and industries, and, not least of all, the synagogues, philanthropic societies, and organizations for defense against pogroms that were such a large part of Jewish life in old Odessa. Her portrait brings to life the city as experienced by such luminaries as Isaac Babel, Sholem Aleichem, and Vladimir Jabotinski. Both a visual treat and a serious exploration of Odessa’s rich history, culture, and social fabric, this book stands alone as a sumptuous homage to a storied city that has inspired affinity and curiosity all over the world.

About the Author
Nicolas Iljine, European representative for the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation, has over 30 years experience in cultural exchange with Russia. Patricia Herlihy is research professor at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, and professor emeritus of history, Brown University. She is the author of Odessa: A History, 1774-1914 in English and Ukrainian. Other contributors include Bel Kaufman, Sholem Aleichem’s granddaughter; Odessa historians Alexander Rozenboim and Oleg Gubar; and translator Antonina Bouis.


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For this extraordinary compilation, editor Iljine, a European representative for the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation, collected rare photographs, posters, postcards, and illustrations from pre-1917 Odessa. A series of essays by prominent Russian historians Patricia Herlihy (Brown Univ.) and Oleg Gubar and Alexander Rozenboim (Odessa Univ.) give us an overview of the history and culture of this once-flourishing port city on the Black Sea. Founded by Catherine the Great after capture from the Turks in the late 18th century, Odessa flowered during the 19th century, becoming one of the most open and cosmopolitan cities in Russia, attracting settlers, businessmen, and traders from across the country and throughout Europe. It also became a center of Jewish culture, nurturing some of the earliest Zionists (e.g., Ze'ev Jabotinsky) and Yiddish writers (e.g., Sholem Aleichem). But the most overwhelming documentation comes from the rich variety of illustrations, some never before published, that rightly restore Odessa's place in Russian and European history. From the moment of opening this beautiful and informative book, this reviewer was unable to put it down until she'd reached the end. Strongly recommended for travel, Slavic history, and Jewish study collections in both public and academic libraries.-Olga B. Wise, Austin, TX Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.


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