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Nathan Ausubel

 

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Nathan Ausubel



 
 
Nathan Ausubel (1898-1986) was a Jewish-American historian, folklorist and humorist.

Biography
Ausubel was born in Lezajsk
Lezajsk

Lezajsk [] is a town in southeastern Poland with 14,127 inhabitants .Lezajsk is famed for its Bernadine basilica and monastery, built by the architect Antonio Pellacini....
, Galicia
Galicia (Central Europe)

Galicia is a historical region in East Central Europe, currently divided between Poland and Ukraine, named after Ukra?ni?n city of Halych.The nucleus of historic Galicia is formed of three regions of western Ukraine: Lvivska oblast, Ternopilska oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast....
, the sixth of eight children, and immigrated with his family to New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 in 1907, where he later attended Columbia University
Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York , is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City....
. Ausubel enlisted in the Jewish Legion
Jewish Legion

The Jewish Legion was the name for five battalions of Jewish volunteers established as the British Army's 38th through 42nd Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers....
's 39th Battalion during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 and fought in the Jordan Valley.

He was married to Marynn Ausubel (1913- 1980) and had one daughter, Ethel Frimmet.






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Encyclopedia


Nathan Ausubel (1898-1986) was a Jewish-American historian, folklorist and humorist.

Biography


Ausubel was born in Lezajsk
Lezajsk

Lezajsk [] is a town in southeastern Poland with 14,127 inhabitants .Lezajsk is famed for its Bernadine basilica and monastery, built by the architect Antonio Pellacini....
, Galicia
Galicia (Central Europe)

Galicia is a historical region in East Central Europe, currently divided between Poland and Ukraine, named after Ukra?ni?n city of Halych.The nucleus of historic Galicia is formed of three regions of western Ukraine: Lvivska oblast, Ternopilska oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast....
, the sixth of eight children, and immigrated with his family to New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 in 1907, where he later attended Columbia University
Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York , is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City....
. Ausubel enlisted in the Jewish Legion
Jewish Legion

The Jewish Legion was the name for five battalions of Jewish volunteers established as the British Army's 38th through 42nd Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers....
's 39th Battalion during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 and fought in the Jordan Valley.

He was married to Marynn Ausubel (1913- 1980) and had one daughter, Ethel Frimmet. His cousin, Dr. Herman Ausubel, was a professor of Victorian history at Columbia, and his nephew David P. Ausubel was a noted professor, educator, ethnographer, and a pioneer in cognitive educational psychology.

Bibliography


Ausubel is best known for his two books, A Treasury of Jewish folklore, which went through over twenty editions, and Pictorial History Of The Jewish People, which included detailed descriptions of previously unknown Lost Tribes of Israel, as well as information on the Khazars
Khazars

The Khazars were a semi-nomadic Turkic people who dominated the Pontic steppe and the North Caucasus from the 7th to the 10th century CE. The name 'Khazar' seems to be tied to a Turkic languages verb form meaning "wandering"....
. A partial bibliography follows:

  • Superman; The Life Of Frederick The Great, I. Washburn, 1931.
  • A Treasury Of Jewish Folklore; Stories, Traditions, Legends, Humor, Wisdom And Folk Songs Of The Jewish People (originally published 1948), Crown Publishers, 1989 ISBN 0-517-50293-3
  • Jewish culture in America: Weapon for Jewish survival and progress, New Century Publishers, 1948.
  • Pictorial History Of The Jewish People, From Bible Times To Our Own Day Throughout The World (originally published 1953), Crown Publishers, 1984. ISBN 0-517-55283-3
  • The Book of Jewish Knowledge;: An encyclopedia of Judaism and the Jewish people, covering all elements of Jewish life from Biblical times to the present, Crown Publishers, 1964. ISBN 0-517-09746-X
  • A Treasury of Jewish Poetry, 1970.
  • A Treasury of Jewish Humor, (originally published 1951), M. Evans and Company, 1988. ISBN 0-87131-546-7


Ausubel translated several works of Yiddish literature
Yiddish literature

Yiddish literature encompasses all belles lettres written in Yiddish, the language of Ashkenazic Jewry which is related to Middle High German. The history of the Yiddish language, with its roots in central Europe and its centuries of locus in Eastern Europe, is evident in the literature produced in this language....
, most notably Mother, by Sholom Asch. He also co-edited the annual series Voices of history.

Quotes


"Jews have received their tempering from an unflinching realism learned for a high fee in the school of life; they have always felt the need of fortifying their spirits with the armor of laughter against the barbs of the world."- A Treasury Of Jewish Folklore, 1948.

"[Folklore is a true and unguarded portrait, for where art may be selective, may conceal, may gloss over defects and even prettify, folk art is always revealing, always truthful in the sense that it is spontaneous expression."- A Treasury Of Jewish Folklore, 1948.

"First you laugh at a Jewish joke or quip. Then, against your will, you suddenly fall silent and thoughtful. And that is because Jews are so frequently jesting philosophers. A hard life has made them re­alists, realists without illusion." - A Treasury of Jewish Humor, 1951.

"Of all the astonishing experiences of the widely dispersed Jewish people none was more extraordinary than that concerning the Khazars."- Pictorial History of the Jewish People, 1953.

Sources

  • Encyclopedia Judaica, Ausubel, Nathan