<P>Yiddish is everywhere. We hear words like <I>nosh</I>, <I>schlep</I>, and <I>schmutz </I>all the time, but how did these words come to pepper American English? In <I>Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land</I>, Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle trace the influence of Yiddish from medieval Europe to the tenements of New York's Lower East Side. This comics anthology contains original stories by notable writers and artists such as Barry Deutsch, Peter Kuper, Spain Rodriguez, and Sharon Rudahl. Through illustrations, comics art, and a full-length play, four major themes are explored: culture, performance, assimilation, and the revival of the language. The last fully realized work by Harvey Pekar, this book is a thoughtful compilation that reveals the far-reaching influences of Yiddish.<BR><BR>Praise for <I>Yiddishkeit:<BR><BR></I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>“The book is about what Neal Gabler in his introduction labels 'Jewish sensibility.' It pervades this volume, which he acknowledges is messy; he writes: 'You really can't define Yiddishkeit neatly in words or pictures. You sort of have to feel it by wading into it.' The book does this with gusto.” —<I>New York Times </I><BR><BR></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>“<I>Yiddishkeit</I> is as colorful, bawdy, and charming as the culture it seeks to represent.”</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>—<I>Print</I> magazine<BR></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>“every bit of it brimming with the charm and flavor of its subject and seamlessly meshing with the text to create a genuinely compelling, scholarly comics experience”</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B>—</B><I>Publishers Weekly<BR></I><BR>“<I>Yiddishkeit</I> is a book that truly informs about Jewish culture and, in the process, challenges readers to pick apart their own vocabulary.” —<I>Chicago Tribune</I></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>“a postvernacular tour de force”</p> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>—<I>The Forward<BR><BR></I></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>“A fascinating and enlightening effort that takes full use of the graphic storytelling medium in an insightful and revelatory way.” <I>—</I><I>The Miami Herald<BR></I><BR></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>“With a loving eye Pekar and Buhle extract moments and personalities from Yiddish history.” —<I>Hadassah</I></p> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><BR>“gorgeous comix-style portraits of Yiddish writers”<BR> ––<I>Tablet</I> <BR><BR>“Yiddishkeit has managed to survive, if just barely, not because there are individuals dedicated to its survival, though there are, but because Yiddishkeit is an essential part of both the Jewish and the human experience.” <BR>—Neal Gabler, author of <I>An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood</I>, from his introduction<BR></P>