The Jewish Economic Elite

"Aust's meticulous research will hopefully lead not only to further developments in economic history along the lines she has laid down, but to deeper thinking across religious studies, among historians, ethicists, theologians, and anthropologists or sociologists of religion."—Reading Religion

"The importance of Cornelia Aust's work goes beyond regional history and fits beautifully into transnational and interregional models that are so appropriate to the topic of Jewish economic history. She provides an understanding of how Jewish merchants could prove so vital to both the feudal and emerging capitalist economics of Eastern and East Central Europe through original research and mastery of all the relevant literature."—Jonathan Karp, author of, The Politics of Jewish Commerce: Economic Thought and Emancipation in Europe

"Cornelia Aust has written an extremely important and innovative book which promises to make a major contribution to our understanding of the history of the Jews in modern Europe. She succeeds in presenting not only the broad structures of family and business networks, but also the fascinating human stories of those who constituted them."—Adam Teller, author of, Money, Power, and Influence in Eighteenth-Century Lithuania

"Aust's book is a significant addition to the field of Jewish economic history and to the study of eastern European Jewish history. It provides a new focus on mercantile elites beyond the Sephardic world and sets a high benchmark for future approaches to transregional studies."—AJS Review

"The Jewish Economic Elite breaks new ground for historical research and should be of interest to historians working beyond Jewish history. It is rigorously researched and an original contribution to scholarship on a central topic of modern history."—American Historical Review