[.ca] Reluctant Cosmopolitans: The Portuguese Jews Of ... (ISBN 1904113125)

without any doubt the best book about the subject:
amazing, written by a historian with an extremely fresh approach, knowledgable, highly readable, covering the topic from all relevant angles, may they be social, religious, cultural or economical. I am writing a book about 2500 years of Spanish jewish history and have among all the material I have gone through not found anything remotely as interesting as this book which may have a non-inviting title but reads like a thriller. Of course I am grateful to mr. Swetschinski for confirming my being a descendant of 4 out of 10 of the first jewish heads of families settling in Amsterdam, but I won't let that distract me from reviewing the book objectively. This is a must-read for anyone who want to understand the development of past-1492 jewish life in all its glory. It also lays a foundation of pride under presentday sephardi life in Israel, if only the sephardim there would share the knowledge available through masterworks like RELUCTANT COSMOPOLITANS..............