Illustrated Catalogue of the Rothschild Collection of Fleas (Siphonaptera) in the British Mu... Book

I first read “An Orphan in History” when I was in my twenties, when I was your typical disaffected and disinterested Jew.

An Orthodox friend of mine had recommended it – and if he had an agenda, it worked, at least sort of.

While I didn’t go completely Orthodox, this book reignited my passion and rebuilt my connection to Judaism.

Paul Cowan helped me locate myself in history, helped me understand the gifts and obligations that come with being part of a 3,000-year-old communal tradition. He inspired me to live simultaneously in 5777 (the Hebrew year in which this review was written) and 2016, inspired me to embrace both my Jewish and my American identities.

While the book primarily appeals to Jewish readers, it speaks powerfully to the majority of Americans, the hundreds of millions of people who find themselves estranged from their ancestral histories.

Sadly, Paul Cowan died just a few years after this book was published. But three decades later, his journey to Judaism still resonates.