People of the Book

The invention of the printing press created a revolution for Jews everywhere. Who could imagine at that time the extraordinary benefits that printing would bring to world Jewry? “People of the Book” vividly describes the invention itself, and then takes us through five hundred years of Hebrew printing, from the earliest products of fifteenth-century printers to those of modern times. Author and teacher Akiva Aaronson introduces us to the first printed editions of the classic sefarim: Talmud, Rambam, Arba’ah Turim, Shulchan Aruch, and many more. Meet the famous Hebrew printers of previous generations: Soncino, Bomber, Romm, Heidenheim, Bak and others. Visit the Jewish communities where Hebrew printing took place, from its earliest days until the present: Venice, Salonika, Prague, Amsterdam, Slavita, Warsaw and Vilna, to name a few. Weaving lively text with over two hundred magnificent, full-color photographs of original Hebrew volumes, “People of the Book” is truly a journey through time- Jewish time- over five centuries of Hebrew printing. Follow its odyssey, from persecution and censorship to survival and triumph, set against the phenomenal history of the times in this beautiful coffee-table edition.