Swimming Against Stereotype: The Story Of A Twentieth Century Jewish Athlete

Amazon, 2006, Digital

Product Description

An essay about a twentieth century Central European Jew who challenged prevailing anti-Semitic stereotypes and, in the years just after the First World War, became a competitive rower and swimmer in what was then Czechoslovakia. In addition to profiling water polo player Kurt Epstein from his childhood to his decision to participate in the 1936 Berlin ”Nazi“ Olympics, the author addresses the problematic subject of Jews in sports.

Product Details

Title: Swimming Against Stereotype: The Story Of A Twentieth Century Jewish Athlete
Sales Rank: 1592793 in Books
Author: Helen Epstein
Publisher: Amazon, 2006-06-23, Digital

Customer Reviews

Determination To Fight Prejudicial Views on the Jewish Athletes: Helen Epstein's work has always been a favorite of mine: informed, well written and in a style that teaches as she tells her personal stories.
Her father's story occurs at a time in Germany where there was an increased threat to Jews. It was a time when caricatures of Jewish merchants, store owners and athletes were used to build the foundation of making Jews… More reviews

fascinating reading on an under-explored topic: How many books have you read about Jewish athletes? Probably none. That is why this piece by Helen Epstein comes as such a welcome addition to a scarcely existent literature. Epstein focuses on Jewish athletes in Central Europe during the first half of the 20th century, using her own father as the centerpiece. Many readers are already familiar with Kurt… More reviews

Strong of body, strong of mind...: Kurt Epstein, the author's late and former Czechoslovak father, embodied the bold new spirit of mid-20th century Judaism. Its aim? To debunk that age-old saw against the myth of the feeble "Jewish body," weak of physical stature but strong of mind. Jews were always deemed of being unfit for sport, "designed for the coffeehouse" and "for… More reviews