"Jewish Manchester: An Illustrated History" will narrate and interpret the development of the Jewish community from its foundation in the 1780s to the present day. This will embrace the earliest Jewish settlers (all of them ex-pedlars), immigration from Germany in the early 19th century, from Eastern Europe after 1840, and from Nazi Europe in the 1930s.The book will seek to emphasise the links between demographic and social change in the evolution of communal intervention in what remains the largest Jewish community in provincial Britain. The book will be essential reading for everyone who is interested in the Jewish community and in the cultural diversity of Manchester and Britain .

Jewish London: An Illustrated History

Gerry Black

PB £9.99

"Jewish History in London" properly begins with the arrival of a small group of Jews with William the Conqueror. Despite their expulsion in 1290, the influence of Jews on the life of the capital has grown, especially after the large-scale immigrations of the 19th and 20th century. The Jews have had an extraordinary impact on the life of the city, and this book shows how it happened. Gerry Black recalls the origins and motives of the generations of Jews who came to make their home in London. The development of the famously close-knit societies they formed in the East End, in north London and else-where in the capital is recorded, and illustrated, in graphic detail. He also gives a fascinating account of their struggle to establish themselves in the city - their housing, their work and trades, schools, hospitals and synagogues. His narrative gives a vivid portrait of outstanding individuals who made notable contributions to the Jewish community and to the wider history of the capital - businessmen, artists, lawyers, artisans. At the same time he records momentous events that marked the course of Jewish History in the city, from the expulsion of 1290 to the Jack the Ripper case and the Sydney Street siege. The story comes right up to the present day. 

On the Other Hand

Chaim Bermant

PB £17.99

The late Chaim Bermant wrote a weekly column in the "Jewish Chronicle" that enraged, delighted and provoked its readers for over 25 years. This collection of his writings has been selected by Judy Bermant, and presents a witty, thought-provoking view of the Jewish world.

British Chief Rabbis

Derek Taylor

PB £19.95

"British Chief Rabbis" tells how they achieved what, in retrospect, seems almost the impossible. The survival of the Jewish Community in Britain in the last 350 years as an Orthodox body has been an extraordinary story of success against all odds. Most of the credit goes to 22 men who acted as the spiritual leaders of this community.

Rodinsky's Room

Rachel Lichtenstein and Ian Sinclair

PB £7.99

Rodinsky's room was found as though it had just been left, twenty years after he mysteriously disappeared. Rodinsky's world was that of the East European Jewry, full of Kabbalistic speculation, and an obsession with language. The discovery touched the imagination of artist Rachel Lichtenstein. This book weaves together Lichtenstein's quest for Rodinsky, which took her to Poland, to Israel and around Jewish London, with Iain Sinclair's meditations on her extraordinary journey into her own roots and culture .

On Brick Lane 

Rachel Lichtenstein

HB £20.00

"On Brick Lane" is an unforgettable journey through the vanished past, the disappearing present and the emerging future of Britain's most mythologized and misunderstood street. Home to successive waves of immigrants, Brick Lane is at once multicultural melting pot and sacred site, bounded by Hawksmoor churches, abandoned synagogues and newly developed mosques, with the old Truman Brewery at its heart. Bringing to life the memories and realities of Brick Lane's many communities, Rachel Lichtenstein harnesses the voices of the famous, the infamous and the obscure, merging memoir, reportage, poetry, photography and local history. The result is as vibrant and fascinating as the neighbourhood it so movingly celebrates.

Lost Synagogues of London

Peter Renton

HB £25.00

This book is well researched with plenty of original photos. The style is easy to read and the author is not afraid to state his own opinions. It will be of interest to anyone whose relatives or friends grew up in a community which no longer exists but who wants to keep their memories, names and personal contributions alive.

Jews in North Devon

Helen Fry

HB £19.99

This is the story set in a time of turmoil for Europe, when the lives of millions of people were in danger from the threat of Hitler's Third Reich. Under the shadow of the swastika, Jews, people of Jewish descent and political opponents faced imminent danger. Tens of thousands of refugees, mainly Jews, were given shelter in Britain between 1933 and 1939. After the outbreak of war it was the remote seaside towns of Westward Ho! and Ilfracombe in North Devon that eventually became home to more than 3000 Jews. Here they settled for a time, the majority as refugees in uniform, in former holiday camps or requisitioned hotels. They brought with them a uniquely continental intellect and culture, not only overcoming the natural suspicion of the local population against largely German-speaking refugees, but also coming to terms with their own fears and sense of loss (for many had left families in Europe, never to be seen again). As German troops overcame much of free Europe and Britain turned from defence to attack, so many of the Jews of North Devon were enlisted into the war effort. Men joined the Pioneer Corps, women worked on the land or with the ATS, others became vital members of the scientific apparatus of war, or took part in heroic acts of espionage. At the same time their North Devon home became a coherent community with the establishment of cultural and religious activities that became an integral part of the life of the evacuees, as well as the immigrants and their British hosts . 

Jewish Heritage in England:
An Architectural Guide

Sharman Kadish

PB £16.99

It is the first comprehensive guide to historic synagogues and sites in this country dating from before the Second World War, based on an authoritative survey carried out with the support of English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The guide is easy to use, covering more than 300 sites, organised on a region-by-region basis. Each section highlights major Jewish landmarks, ranging from Britain's oldest synagogue, Bevis Marks Synagogue in the City of London, through the Georgian gems of the West Country to the splendid High Victorian "cathedral synagogues" of Birmingham, Brighton and Liverpool. Heritage trails around former Jewish quarters of the major cities are included. Relics of Anglo-Jewry's medieval past are explored in York, Lincoln and Norwich, and venerable burial grounds with Hebrew inscriptions are found in the unlikeliest of places. Curious oddities are not to be missed, including a 19th-century private penthouse synagogue in Brighton and an Egyptian-style Mikveh [ritual bath] in Canterbury. This guide will undoubtedly appeal both to the specialist and the tourist alike .

Orthodox Judaism in Britain Since 1913

Miri J. Freud-Kandel

PB £19.95