Books by Pierre Birnbaum

This is the tale of an accusation of blood libel during a period when France prided itself on its rationality.

In Geography of Hope, French sociologist and historian Pierre Birnbaum examines the work of the some of the prominent Jewish social scientists of the past two centuries in order to analyze their range of responses to the tensions between the Enlightenment call for universalism and the reality of Jewish particularism.

In 1898, the Dreyfus Affair plunged French society into a yearlong frenzy. In Paris and provincial villages throughout the country, angry crowds paraded through the streets, attacking Jews and destroying Jewish-owned businesses. The author guides readers on a tour of France during this tumultuous crisis.

A new appreciation of the extraordinary life and legacy of Leon Blum, the first Jewish prime minister of France