Benjamin Veitel Ephraim – Kaufmann, Schriftsteller, Geheimagent

lt;p> Liliane Weissberg, University of Pennsylvania, USA.

lt;p>In a book that is far more than an impressive collection of writings by a forgotten figure from the high society of Old Regime Berlin, Liliane Weissberg opens an exceptional window on an entire generation of Jews who confronted the challenges of modernization. Weissberg paints a marvelous picture of the vicissitudes of Benjamin Veitel Ephraim's life between business, industry, diplomacy, politics, and Enlightenment. What was it like to be an ambitious, involved, and adventurous Jew in the age of Frederic the Great, the French Revolution, and Napoleon? The answer provided by this fascinating and important book, as reflected, among other things, in Ephraim's autobiographical account of his imprisonment for espionage, penetrates the modern Jew's soul.

Shmuel Feiner, Samuel Braun Chair for the History of Jews in Germany, Bar Ilan University, and President of the Historical Society of Israel

Liliane Weissberg erschließt mit ihrer gründlichen Edition die an spektakulären Wendungen reiche Lebensgeschichte des jüdischen Geschäftsmanns, Schriftstellers und Projektemachers Ephraim, der als preußischer Agent ins revolutionäre Paris geschickt wurde und schließlich im Gefängnis landete - ein faszinierender mikrohistorischer Blick auf die große Umbruchszeit um 1800.

Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger, Rektorin des Wissenschaftskollegs zu Berlin

Banker, merchant, author, spy-Benjamin Veitel Ephraim was surely one of the most colorful figures in modern Jewish history. Liliane Weissberg's meticulously researched collection of his writings and fascinating account of his life rescues Ephraim from oblivion and provides something unprecedented: a first-hand view of the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars seen through eyes of a Jew. Richly illustrated, this book reads like an adventure tale, but will also change the way scholars think about the emancipation period.

Maurice Samuels, Betty Jane Anlyan Professor of French, Chair of Judaic Studies, and Director, Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism, Yale University