History of the Jews, Vol. 6 (of 6) Containing a Memoir of the Author by Dr. Philip Bloch, a Chronological Table of Jewish History, an Index to the Whole Work

About this book

The sixth volume of Heinrich Graetz’s monumental History of the Jews is a supplemental work that brings together three distinct aids for readers of the five‑volume narrative: a memoir of Graetz penned by his longtime disciple Dr. Philip Bloch, a chronological table that condenses the entire sweep of Jewish history up to 1873, and a comprehensive index covering the whole series. The opening pages explain the rationale for this addition, emphasizing the value of indexes for a work of “upwards of three thousand pages” and detailing the scholarly care taken to assemble subject headings such as “Blood Accusation,” “Emancipation of the Jews,” and “Messiah.” The volume also includes maps of Palestine and the broader Semitic world, and it opens with a biographical sketch that situates Graetz’s early life against the backdrop of the 1795 partition of Poland and the ensuing Prussian administration of the Province of Posen.

Written in the late‑nineteenth‑century scholarly style of the Jewish Publication Society of America, the text combines meticulous historical analysis with a didactic tone. Graetz’s original German scholarship is rendered into English, and Bloch’s memoir offers a personal glimpse into the historian’s reserved character and his network of correspondents. Readers who appreciate exhaustive reference tools, academic histories, and the intellectual climate of 19th‑century Jewish studies will find this volume a valuable companion to the main series, while those seeking a concise, indexed guide to the subject will benefit from its structured tables and maps.