Read by 4 cassettes/6 hours With joy and unrestrained kvelling, Random House AudioBooks announces a smartly updated new edition of Leo Rosten's classic celebration and exploration of the Yiddish language--the first time on audio! From chutzpa to shmooze, oy vay to shlep, a wealth of Yiddish words have entered common American parlance, rolling off the tongues of Jews and non-Jews alike. More than a quarter of a century ago, Leo Rosten presented the first comprehensive and hilariously entertaining lexicon of this colorful and deeply expressive language. The New Joys of Yiddish went on to become a perennial bestseller in both hardcover and paperback. With the recent renaissance of interest in Yiddish, and in keeping with a language that embodies the variety and vibrancy of life itself, this new edition brings Rosten's masterful work up to date. Revised by editor Lawrence Bush, in close consultation with Rosten's daughters, it retains the spirit of the original--with its wonderful jokes, tidbits of cultural history, Talmudic and Biblical references, and tips on pronunciation--and enhances it with hundreds of new entries and thoughtful commentary on how Yiddish has evolved over the years. The New Joys of Yiddish is nothing less than a mitzvah ("a 'good work,' a virtuous, kind, considerate, ethical deed") for those who loved the original book and for those discovering the pleasures of Yiddish for the first time.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
joys of yiddish:
thils is an updated version of leo rosten's original book. it appears a bit overdone in its scholarly definitions. i purchased the book as a gift for someone who was interested in learning something about yiddish.
sanitized for understandable reasons:
For example, for an honest translation and etymology of "shaygetz" or "shiksa," see the Meggido Modern Hebrew-English Dictionary: "sheqetz: unclean animal, loathsome creature, abomination...."
Sorta 'new' joys of yiddish:
I hoped there'd me more actual language and less American-isms. But I get it now that I've read it - and the introductions. It was not intended as such. But I didn't really know that before I bought it. It's a classic, and I still really had fun with it.
Get an older edition, without the irrelevant and/or PC footnotes:
There's no need to repeat the deservedly fine comments already posted about Rosten's book. I simply wish to recommend buying any edition PRIOR to this 2001 revision by Lawrence Bush. While Bush does preserve Rosten's witty text intact, he spoils things by adding agenda-driven footnotes throughout. Bush castigates Rosten for making Reform jokes (please! I was raised Reform, and I found them funny) and ruins the humourous "shadchan" (matchmaker) entry by going on at length about Jewish domestic abuse (a... more info
