We live in a historical end-time that erases the legacy of the nineteenth century in all areas of social and individual life. Our epoch at the turn of two centuries has come to an end and there are many indications that the twentieth century will not be a continuation but the reversal of the nineteenth. ... So I want my memories to be understood as materials for the history of my time, a story of the intellectual struggles at the beginning of this era and the political struggles at its end. "Simon Dubnow 1934Simon Dubnow's book of life comprises three parts, which in three Volumes are published. Volume 1 brings to mind childhood and youth, the apprenticeship years and the beginning of journalistic work such as historical research in Petersburg and Odessa in the years 1860 to 1903. In it Dubnow describes traditional Jewish life in Eastern Europe and the dawn of modernity.

Foreword by: Dan Diner
Translated by: Vera Bischitzky