This is a wonderful brilliant book rich in detail painstakinglyreconstructed from inquisition archives in Madrid a variety of municipal andecclesiastical archiv... » 

This is a wonderful brilliant book rich in detail painstakinglyreconstructed from inquisition archives in Madrid a variety of municipal andecclesiastical archives in Valencia and especially the Aragonese royalarchives in Barcelona. It is certainly the most detailed and wideranginghistory to date of any Jewish community in the lands of the Crown of Aragoni.e. Mediterranean Spain and will take its place among the best histories ofa particular Jewish community for all of medieval Europe. If genius is thecapacity for taking infinite pains I nominate Mark Meyersons A JewishRenaissance in FifteenthCentury Spain as a work of genius.Larry J. SimonWestern Michigan UniversityThis wellwritten book not only represents a solid contribution to medievalIberian history and Jewish history but also speaks to modern pluralisticsociety. In reading about the problems that affected a single Jewish communityethnic and religious identity preservation socialization and statebuildingthe intertwinement of trade and economics with families and culture and soforthwe are tempted to think times have changed things are different thiswas the past. But then comes the nagging question Is this really so? Or areSpains early modern problems of seeking social cohesion despite socialdiversity with us still?Lawrence J. McCrank Chicago State Universityauthor of Medieval Frontier History in New Catalonia «