He was born in the shadow of the revolutions of 1848 and 1849, and his liberalism was laced with socialism. That, and not Nordau's stature as a founder of the Zionist movement, was what
probably caused his geographical diversity; born in Pest, he migrated to Paris, Spain and London, not always by choice. He wrote fiction that mirrored all the social and intellectual ferment
his age had to offer, and although one of his primary themes was what was wrong with fin-de-si癡cle culture, he was fully capable of an edgy optimism. Few now read or critique his work, a
situation that Murphy (history, Emmanuel College) is likely to change in this lively treatment. She analyzes him as a nationalist and social Darwinist and how both influenced his persistent
understanding of the right and reasonable as it applied to Zionism, race, family, and virtually every other issue he addressed in print. Annotation 穢2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
(booknews.com)
