Ghetto: The Invention of a Place, the History of an Idea

This book traces a history of a place that dates back over 500 years, looking at the first Jewish ghetto to the present day. The story starts in the spring of 1516, when the city council of Venice issues a decree proclaiming that Jews were to live in a closed neighborhood — il geto. The term referred to the neighborhood’s ties to the copper foundry it once was, but the word would span past its own context and become linked to other identities, people and places. The author traces the ghetto’s origins and resurgences, as they relate to Jewish communities as well as looking at American anti-black racism through the US’s history. Hardly simply a historical accounting of the ghetto, the author adds importance on how it’s essential to understand the antisemitic and racist past if we are to understand the ghettos of the present day.

(This book may contain a sharpie mark on the top or bottom edge and may show mild signs of shelfwear.)