These are some of the books I have found useful in my searches.
It is by no means a complete list (a much larger list can be found in my book on Sephardic genealogy) but it is hoped that these will be useful as a start in your own searches. Even though the books are divided into sections for convenience, Jews frequently moved from region to region (between Spain and North Africa in pre-expulsion days and between Italy, the Ottoman empire, North Africa, and the Americas after that). It is therefore important to read books from all sections to avoid getting an erroneous view of Jews of this or that region as a separate isolated entity. Sephardic Jews were in constant contact with each other, both physically and intellectually, and frequently travelled to and from Baghdad to Spain to North Africa as these books clearly demonstrate.
Many of these books are out of print and hard to find. Look for them in local University or Jewish Libraries.
1. A few can be found at discount internet sources such as:
Click here to connect to
.
Where I could, I have provided, next to the book, a direct link to Amazon which usually has the best prices.
2. Others can be found at Out of Print dealers such as Bookfinder books Click here.
Just click for the following book categories on this page:
See in addition:
Sephardic Genealogy
Malka, Jeffrey S.
-
Sephardic Genealogy: Discovering Your Sephardic Ancestors and Their World.
2nd Ed. Avotaynu, 2009.
Click here for Table of Contents and to order from Avotaynu.
Indispensable. The ONLY comprehensive book for Sephardic Genealogy. --
History, research methods, archives, surnames, maps, bibliography, and more.
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Israel
Tagger, Mathilde and Kerem, Yitchak
-
Guidebook for Sephardic and Oriental Genealogical Sources in Israel
.
Avotaynu, 2006.
Order from Avotaynu now.
Thorough detailed guide to resources available in Israel. A must before a trip to Israel.
Sack, SallyAnn Amdur
-
Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Israel.
Avotaynu, 1995.
Introduction to resources available in Israel.
Gaon, Moshe David
-
Yehudei ha-Mizrah be-erets Yisrael.
Jerusalem. 1938.
Vol II is a biographical dictionary of Oriental Jews in Eretz Israel.
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Sephardic Onomastics and Rabbinic Dictionaries
Ben Naim, Yosef
-
Malkhei Rabanan.
Jerusalem, 1931 (Hebrew).
Extensive biographical listing of rabbis of Morocco
Cohen, Benyamin Rafael
-
Malkhei Tarshish.
Jerusalem, 1986 (Hebrew).
Extensive biographical listing of rabbis of Tunisia
Frumkin, A.
-
Toldot Hakhmei Yerushalayim.
Jerusalem, 1872 (Hebrew).
Biographical listing of rabbis of Jerusalem.
Gaon, Moshe David
-
Yehudei Hamizrach Be'Eretz Israel.
Jerusalem, 1836 (Hebrew).
Mizrachi Jews in Israel.
Laredo, Abraham
-
Les Noms des Juifs du Maroc
Institut Montano, Madrid, 1978
Extensive biographic listing with detailed sources, etc. Terrific for genealogists. This book which was
out of print and long unavailable has now been reprinted and available in 2 volumes in Spain.
Marciano, Eliahu Rafael
-
Malkhei Yeshurun.
Jerusalem, 2000 (Hebrew).
Extensive biographical listing of rabbis of Algeria
Ovadia, David
-
Fez ve hakhameha.
Jerusalem, 1979 (Hebrew).
Fez and its Rabbis (from Yahas Fez)
Tagger, Mathilde
-
Index to Malkhei Tarshish.
Jerusalem, Ben Zvi Institute, 1994 (Hebrew).
Index
Tanugi, Y.
-
Toldot Hakhamei Tunis.
Bnei Brak, 1988 (Hebrew).
Tunis rabbis.
Faiguenboim, G., et al.
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Spain-Portugal
Malka, Jeffrey S.
-
Sephardic Genealogy: Discovering Your Sephardic Ancestors and Their World.
2nd Ed., Avotaynu, 2009.
Click here for Table of Contents and to order from Avotaynu.
Indispensible. The ONLY comprehensive book for Sephardic Genealogy. --
History, research methods, PRE-EXPULSION AND INQUISITION records, archives, surnames, maps, bibliography, and more.
Abecassis, Jose Maria
-
Genealogia Hebraica. Portugal e Gibraltar.
Lisboa 1990 (in portuguese).
5 volumes of documented family trees (XVII to XX centuries)
Adler, Elkan Nathan
-
Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages.
Dover Publishers, 1987.
19 fascinating first hand accounts. Entertaining and broadens your perspective.
Alhadeff, Gini
-
The sun at midday. Tales of a mediteranean family.
Pantheon Books, NY 1997.
Order from Amazon Books now.
Family story of the Alhadeff-Pinto families in Turkey, Rhodes, Egypt, S America, etc.
Alhadeff, Victtorio
-
La Cita En Buenos Aires Saga de una gran
familia Sefaradi.
Family story of the Alhadeff family of Rhodes.
Anchías, Juan de.
-
Libro verde de Aragón; documentos aragoneses publicados por d. Isidro de las Cagigas.
Madrid, Compañía ibero-americana de publicaciones, 1929.
Small book, general information, no index. (For original see below).
Anchías, Juan de.
-
Consvltations resolvtio, Libro verde de Aragón.
Cæsaravgvstæ, apvd Ioannem a Lanaja et Qvartanet regni Aragonum, & Vniuersitatis typographym, 1623.
Usually found in rare books collections.
Ashton, Eliyahu
-
The Jews of Muslim Spain.
Jewish Publications Society, 1993
A "classic".
Assis, Y.T.
-
Jews in the Crown of Aragon. 1213-1327.
Central Archives History of the Jewish People, Jerusalem, 1995.
Thorough study of Jews in northeast Spain. History, culture, sexual mores, etc. Essential.
Assis, Y.T.
-
Jewish economy in the Medieval Crown of Aragon, 1213-1327.
E. J. Brill, 1997.
Companion volume providing the Jewish economy information.
Baer, Yitzhak
-
History of the Jews in Christian Spain.
Jewish Publications Society, 1993.
A "classic".
Ballesteros, Carmen and Mery Ruah.
-
Os judeus sefarditas entre Portugal, Espanha e Marrocos.
Lisbon: Edicoes Colibri: Associacao Portuguesa de Estudos Judaicos, 2004.
Beinhart, Haim
-
Conversos on Trial. The Inquisition in Ciudad Real.
Magnes Press. The Hebrew University. Jerusalem 1981.
About the Inquisition in Villa Real in La Mancha.
Bodian, Miriam
-
Hebrews of the Portuguese Nation: Conversos and Community in Early Modern Amsterdam (Modern Jewish Experience)
Indiana University Press. December 1, 1997
Communal history of the Portuguese Jews who settled in Amsterdam in the seventeenth century.
Cubells i Llorens, Josefina
-
The Jews of Tortosa, 1373-1492: regesta of documents from the Archivo Histo?rico de Protocolos de Tarragona.
Jerusalem: Hispania Judaica, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1991
Archival documents.
Dolader, Miguel Angel Motis
-
The Expulsion of the Jews from Calatayud, 1492-1500: documents and regesta.
Jerusalem: Hispania Judaica, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1990
Archival documents.
Donate & Magdalena
-
Jewish Communities in Valencia.
Magnes Press. The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 1990.
Good source for Valencia.
Elazar, Daniel J.
-
The Other Jews. The Sephardim Today.
Basic Books 1992.
Thought provoking book about Sephardim today, both in Israel and around the world. Highly recommended.
Elnecave, Nissim
-
Los Hijos de Ibero-Franconia.
Ediciones La Luz, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1981
Good source of names. List of names on Ben Nahman's page.
Escriba, Gemma
-
The Tortosa disputation : regesta of documents from the Archivo de la Corona de Aragon, Fernando I, 1412-1416.
Jerusalem: Hispania Judaica, Dinur Institute, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1998
Good source of names and archival extracts.
Gerber, Jane
-
The Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience.
The Free Press, MacMillan, New York, 1992.
A must read.
(And a good friend of my dad's).
Ginio, Alisa
-
Jews, Christians and Muslims in Mediterranean world after 1492.
Frank Cass and Co., 1992.
Useful information.
Jaume Riera i Sans.
-
Retalls de la vida dels jueus: Barcelona, 1301--Besalú, 1325.
Barcelona : R. Dalmau, 2000.
Includes bibliographical references.
Leon Tello, Pilar
-
Judios de Toledo.
Institut Arias Montano, Madrid
List of Jews who lived in Toledo and Court Documents about them. For list see Ben Nahman's page.
Katz, Israel J. and M. Serels
-
Studies on the History of Portuguese Jews from Their Expulsion in 1497 Through Their Dispersion.
New York: Sepher-Hermon Press for the American Society of Sephardic Studies, 2000.
Liebman, Seymour B.
-
The Inquisitors and the Jews in the New World.
University of Miami Press
Except for a brief introduction, the entire book is a listing of Inquisition Records in the New World. Good source for converso names in the New World.
Lluís Marcó i Dachs.
-
Los judíos en Cataluña.
Barcelona : Ediciones Destino, 1985.
Translation of: Els jueus i nosaltres.
Malka, Edmond S.
-
Fieis Portugueses: Judeus na peninsula iberica
Portugal: Edições Acrópole, 1977.
Based on doctoral thesis at Universidade de Granada, Spain.
Mane, Maria Cinta and Gemma Escriba
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The Jews in the Crown of Aragon : regesta of the Cartas reales in the Archivo de la Corona de Aragon.
Jerusalem: Hispania Judaica, Dinur Institute, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1993-1995
Good source of names and archival extracts.
Mane, Maria Cinta (Assis, Yomtob, ed.)
-
The Jews in Barcelona, 1213-1291 : regesta of documents from the Archivo Capitular.
Jerusalem: Hispania Judaica, Dinur Institute, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1988
Archival extracts.
Mateus, Susana Bastos and Paulo Mendes Pinto
-
Lisboa 1506, O Massacre Dos Judeus. [Lisbon, 1506, The Massacre of the Jews]
Lisbon: Alêtheia Editores, 2007
Historical account of the massacre of 4,000 New Christians in 1506 Lisbon.
Martz, Linda
-
A Network of Converso Families in Early Modern Toledo.
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2003
Deals with the peri-expulsion period. Contains many genealogical family trees of prominent conversos, including Silva, Ayala, Franco, Cedillo, Santo Domingo, Cota, Sancho Sanchez de Toledo, Niño, Noez, Tejares, Husillo, Cisneros, Herrera, Ramirez, García de Toledo (La Gallinería), Avalos, Fenolete, Añovar, Sedeño y Mesa, Canales, Ortiz de Torres, Alcocer, Ceballaos, Nuñez, etc.
Molina
-
La Expulsion de Los Judios de la Corona de Aragon.
Institucion Fernando el Catolico, Zaragoza, 1991.
Interesting.
Netanyahu, B.
-
The Origins of the Inquisition in XIV century Spain.
Random House, 1995.
A "classic" with a different point of view.
Novinsky, Anita
-
Cristaos novos na Bahia.
Sa?o Paulo : Edito?ra Perspectiva, 1972
History of the crypto Jews of Northeastern Brazil by the foremost athority on the subject.
Ortiz, Dominguez
-
Judeoconversos en la espana moderna.
Editorial Mapfre, Paseo de Recoletos, 25 - 28004 Madrid 1992.
Paris, Erna
-
The End of Days.
Promethius books, Amherst, NY 1995.
Very readable, perceptive and informative. Highly recommended.
Raphael, David
-
The Expulsion 1492 Chronicles.
Carmi House Press. P.O.Box 4796, North Hollywood, California 91607.
Translations of contemporary writings about Sephardim and the Expulsion. Provides good insight.
Regne, Jean
-
History of Jews in Aragon. Collection of Regesta and court documents 1213-1327.
Magnes Press. Hebrew University 1978
Good source of names from that period.
Rich Abad, Anna.
-
La comunitat jueva de Barcelona entre 1348 i 1391 a través de la documentació notarial.
Zaragoza : Certeza ; Girona : Ajuntament de Girona, 2003. (Also Barcelona : Fundació Noguera, 1999).
Includes bibliographical references, several family trees (Benvenist, Cabritt, Cap-Forn, Bellcaire, Perfit-Alfaquim, Gracia), excerpts of notarial records, and index.
Riera i Sans, Jaume, ed..
-
Cants de noces dels jueus catalans.
Barcelona, Curial, 1974.
Poems in Hebrew and Latin characters.
Romano, David.
-
Per a una història de la Girona jueva.
Girona : Ajuntament de Girona, 1988.
2 vols. Vol 1: articles, some from encyclopaedias (about inscriptions, synagogues, family trees, etc.). Vol 2: historical studies, onomastic index.
Romano, David.
-
Judíos al servicio de Pedro el Grande de Aragón (1276-1285).
Barcelona : Universidad de Barcelona, Facultad de Filología, 1983.
Includes biographical references.
Roth, Cecil
-
The Spanish Inquisition.
W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
Out of date but an "old classic".
Roth, Norman
-
Conversos, Inquisition and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
University of Wisconsin Press 1995.
Much information about converso families and lists of converso names.
Sachar, H. M.
-
Farewell Espana. The world of the Sephardim remembered.
Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1974-1985.
Great book by a master historian.
Singerman, Robert
-
The Jews in Spain and Portugal.
Garland Publishing, New York, 1975.
History.
Steinhardt, Inácio
-
Raízes dos Judeus em Portugal: Entre Godos e Sarracenos (in Portuguese)
Nova Vega, May 2012
Excellent detailed and well documented history of the Jews of Portugal.
Tavares, Maria José Pimenta Ferro
-
Los judeus em Portugal.
Madrid: Editorial MAPFRE, 1992.
Studies including name and place index.
Tavares, Maria José Pimenta Ferro
-
Os judeus em Portugal no século XIV.
Lisboa: Guimarães, 1979.
Some biographic data, maps, bibliography, name index.
Tavares, Maria José Pimenta Ferro
-
Os judeus em Portugal no século XV.
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, 1982-(1984).
Subtitled as "vol. 1" but no other vol. found. Maps, bibliography, no index.
Wiesenthal, Simon
-
Sails of Hope: The Secret Mission of Christopher Columbus.
New York: Macmillan, 1973
From the famous Nazi hunter. Explores reasons to believe Columbus was a crypto-Jew, with supporting data.
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North Africa
Malka, Jeffrey S.
-
Sephardic Genealogy: Discovering Your Sephardic Ancestors and Their World.
2nd Ed., Avotaynu, 2009.
Click here for Table of Contents and to order from Avotaynu.
Indispensible. The ONLY comprehensive book for Sephardic Genealogy. --
History, research methods, archives, (including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Italy France records) surnames, maps, bibliography, and more.
Abitbol, Michel
-
The Jews of North Africa During the Second World War.
Wayne State University Press, 1989.
A standard ion the field. Essential reading.
Adler, Elkan Nathan
-
Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages.
Dover Publishers, 1987.
19 fascinating first hand accounts. Entertaining and broadens your perspective.
Ashtor, Eliyahu
-
The Jews of Muslim Spain.
Published by Jewish Publications Society, 1993.
A "classic".
Attal, Robert & Avivi, Joseph
-
Registres Matrimoniaux de la Communaute Juive Portugaise de Tunis. XVIII-XIX siecles.
Oriens Judaicus, Institut Ben Zvi, Israel 1989.
List of marriages that occurred in the Portuguese Jewish Community of Tunis which kept itself separate from the local Tuansa Jews and kept careful records. Excellent (French and Hebrew editions).
Attal, Robert & Avivi, Joseph
-
Registres Matrimoniaux de la Communaute Juive Portugaise de Tunis. 1843-1854.
Oriens Judaicus, Institut Ben Zvi, Israel 2000.
Additional marriages (from an book of registers recently discovered by Attal) of the Portuguese Jewish Community of Tunis. Excellent.
Attal, Robert
-
Les Juifs d'Afrique du Nord - Bibliographie; edition refondue et elargie.
Jerusalem, Institut Ben-Zvi, 1993.
Essential bibliography reference. Covers North Africa in general, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Tripoli. 10,062 citations.
Attal, Robert
-
Ketubot d'Afrique du Nord a Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, Ben Zvi Institute, 1984
113 ketubot summaries in Ben Zvi Institute, (Jewish National University Library and Israel Museum)
Avivi, Joseph
-
Manuscrits des Juifs des Maghreb a l'Institut Ben Zvi.
Institute Ben Zvi, Israel.
List of manuscripts of Jews of the Maghreb at the Institute Ben Zvi.
Awret, Irene
-
Days of Honey: The Tunisian Boyhood of Rafael Uzan.
Schocken Books, 1984.
Biography of the early life of a Safed artist's life in a small Tunisian town and his imprisonment in a Nazi camp. By an award winning artist. Excellent.
Bensoussan, David:
Il etait une fois Le Maroc
Les Editions du Lys ; iUniverse, 2012.
Excellent historical review of the Jewish history of Morocco.
Bruno, Louis & Malka, Elie
-
Receuil de textes Judeo-Arabes de Fes.
Hautes Etudes Marocaines, Rabat 1939.
Collection of Jewish primary documents from Fes.
Chouraqui, Andre N.
-
Between East and West. A History of the Jews in North Africa.
Atheneum NY 1973.
Translated from the french. Very informative.
Corcos, David
-
Studies in the History of the Jews of Morocco.
Rubin Mass, Jerusalem 1976.
Part in English, part in Hebrew.
Deshen, Shlomo
-
The Mellah Society.
University of Chicago Press 1989.
Best description of Jewish society in pre-colonial Morocco by a noted Professor and expert. Highly recommended.
Editions du Scribe
-
Juifs d'Egypte, Images et Textes.
2nd Ed. Les Editions du Scribe 1984.
Compedium of photographs and images brought together by Jews from Egypt. Beautiful.
Editions du Scribe
-
Les Juifs du Maroc, Images et Textes.
2nd Ed. Les Editions du Scribe 1991.
Compedium of photographs and images brought together by Jews from Morocco. Beautiful.
Editions du Scribe
-
Les Juifs de Tunisie, Images et Textes.
2nd Ed. Les Editions du Scribe 1991.
Compedium of photographs and images brought together by Jews from Tunisia. Beautiful.
Elazar, Daniel J.
-
The Other Jews. The Sephardim Today.
Basic Books 1992.
Thought provoking book about Sephardim today, both in Israel and around the world. Highly recommended.
Gerber, Jane
-
Jewish Society in Fez 1450-1700: Studies in Communal and economic life.
Leiden. E. J. Brill 1980.
Very thorough scholarly study of Jewish life in ancient Fez.
Goldberg, Harvey
-
Sephardi and Middle-east Jewries. History and culture in modern times.
Indiana Univ Press, 1996.
Focus is on today.
Goldberg, Harvey
-
Jewish life in Muslim Libya.
Univ. Chicago Press 1990.
Focus is on today.
Hirschberg, J.W.
-
A History of the Jews in North Africa (2 vols).
Leiden. E. J. Brill 1974.
Thorough and superb. An absolute must.
Kenbib, Mohammed
-
Juifs et musulmans au Maroc, 1859-1948.
Faculte des lettres et des sciences humaines-Rabat (1994).
About the relations between Jews and Moslems in Morocco by an excellent Moroccan historian and diplomat.
Lagnado, Lucette
-
The man in the white sharkskin suit: my familys exodus from Old Cairo to the New World.
New York: Ecco, 2007.
Moving description of Jewish life in early 20th century Cairo and subsequent immigrant struggles in the US although it is more about a Syrian Jewish family in Egypt.
Laredo, Abraham
-
Les Noms des Juifs du Maroc.
Institut Montano, Madrid, 1978.
Extensive biographic listing with detailed sources, etc. Terrific for genealogists
Laskier, Michael M.
-
The Jews of Egypt. 1920-1970.
NY Univ Press, 1992.
The last decades of the the Jewish community of Egypt.
Laskier, Michael M.
-
The Alliance Israelite and the Jewish Communities of Morocco 1862-1962.
Albany, State U of NY Press, 1983.
Filled with hard to find facts like all Laskier's books.
Laskier, Michael M.
-
North African Jewry in the 20th Century: The Jews of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.
NYU Press, 1997.
By an expert on middle eastern Jewry. Filled with solid facts like all Laskier's books.
Levy, Lionel
-
La Nation Juive Portugaise: Livourne, Amsterdam, Tunis, 1591-1951.
Paris and Montreal: L'Harmattan, 1999
Lopez Alvarez, Ana Maria
-
La Comunidad Judia de tetuan, 1881-1940: onomastica y sociologia en el libro de registro de circuncisiones del rabino
Yishaq Bar Vid Al Haserfaty .
Museo Sefardi ; Madrid 2003..
Malka, Eli
Msellati, Henri
-
Les juifs d'Algerie sous le regime de Vichy: 10 juillet 1940-3 novembre 1943.
Harmattan, 1999.
A vivid and detailed history of the Jews of Algeria under the Vichy government in WW II.
Romanelli, Samuel
-
Travail in an Arab Land.
University of Alabama Press 1989.
Uncannily accurate and beautifully written travelogue of an eighteenth century Italian Jew's 4 year stay in Morocco. Highly recommended. (Excellent translation from the poetic Hebrew by Stillman).
Salafranca Ortega, J. T.
-
Historia de la Poblacion Judia de Melilla desde su reconquista por espana hasda 1936.
Detailed study including census sheets, names, photos, and archival sources. By a historian who had lived in Melilla.
Satloff, Robert
-
Among the righteous: lost stories from the Holocaust's long reach into Arab lands.
Public Affairs, 2006. Historian describes suffering of the Jews of North Africa under Vichy and WWII including the little known 100+ brutal labor camps
in North Africa, harsh anti-Jewish laws, torture and death. Essential to understanding North African Jewish suffering during WWII.
Stillman, Norman
-
The Jews of Arab Lands in Modern Times.
Jewish Publication Society of America, 2003.
A standard in the field. Essential reading.
Sebag, Paul
-
Les Noms Des Juifs de Tunisie: Origines Et Significations.
Paris: Harmattan, 2002.
Dictionary of Tunisian Jewish names. Has a number of errors but otherwise a good resource.
Toledano, Joseph
-
La Saga des Familles. Les Juifs du Maroc et leurs noms.
Stavit, Tel Aviv, 1983.
Much smaller, but similar to Laredo's Noms des...... Does not indicate sources but has many old photos of family members.
Toledano, Joseph
-
Une Histoire des familles; les Noms de Famille Juifs d'Afrique du Nord.
Jerusalem, 1999.
Includes biographies of past prominent persons and presently living ones.
Zafrani, Haim.
-
Juifs d'Andalousie et du Maghreb. (Jews of Andalusia and of the Maghreb).
Paris, Maisonneuve and Larose, 1996.
Essential reading by the foremost living authority on the Maghreb and Jewish Andalusia.
Zafrani, Haim.
-
Two Thousand Years of Jewish Life in Morocco.
KTAV Publishing House 2003.
English version of an earlier book by this noted authority.
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New World and Caribbean
Malka, Jeffrey S.
-
Sephardic Genealogy:
Discovering Your Sephardic Ancestors and Their World.
2nd Ed., Avotaynu, 2009.
Click here for Table of Contents and to order.
Indispensible. The ONLY comprehensive book for Sephardic Genealogy. --
History, research methods, archives, surnames, maps, bibliography, and more. (Includes Holland, St. Thomas, St. Croix and Nevis, Curacao, St Eustatia, St Maarten, Jamaica, Argentina, Brazil, etc.).
Andrade, Jacob A. P. M.
-
A Record of the Jews in Jamaica from the English Conquest to the Present Times.
Kingston, Jamaica, The Jamaica Times Ltd., 1941.
Arbell, Mordechai
-
The Portuguese Jews of Jamaica.
University Press of the West Indies (Canoe Press), 2000.
Arbell, Mordechai
-
The Jewish nation of the Caribbean : the Spanish-Portuguese Jewish settlements in the Caribbean and the Guianas.
New York: Gefen Pub., 2002.
Barnett, R.D. & P.Wright
-
The Jews of Jamaica; Tombstone Inscriptions. 1663-1880.
Jerusalem, Ben Zvi Institute, 1997.
Good source and index.
Behar, Ruth
-
The Vulnerable Observer: Anthropology That Breaks Your Heart.
Behar, Ruth
-
Bridges to Cuba/Puentes a Cuba.
Bejarano, Margalit
-
La Comunidad Hebrea De Cuba, La Memoria Y La Historia.
Jerusalem: Instituto Abraham Harman de Judaismo Contemporaneo Universidad Hebrea de Jerusalem, 1996.
Bettinger-Lopez, Caroline
-
Cuban-Jewish Journeys, Searching for Identity, Home, and History in Miami.
Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 2000.
Bejarano, Margalit
-
Cuban-Jewish Journeys: Searching for Identity, Home, and History in Miami.
Jerusalem: Instituto Abraham Harman de Judaismo Contemporaneo Universidad Hebrea de Jerusalem, 1996.
Birmingham, Stephen
-
The Grandees. America's Sephardic Elite.
Sephardic version of "Our Crowd". About the early Sephardic families in the US.
Emmanuel, Isaac Samuel and Suzanne A. Emmanuel
-
Precious Stones of the Jews in Curaçao: Curaçaon Jewry 1656-1957.
NY: Bloch, 1957 (out of print)
Emmanuel, Isaac Samuel and Suzanne A. Emmanuel
-
History of the Jews of the Netherlands Antilles.
Cincinnati: American Jewish Archives, 1970 (out of print)
Ezratty, Harry a.
-
Five hundred years in the Jewish Caribbean.
Baltimore, Md.: Omni Arts, 1997
Levy, Lionel
-
La Nation Juive Portugaise: Livourne, Amsterdam, Tunis, 1591-1951.
Paris and Montreal: L'Harmattan, 1999
Liebman, Seymour B.
-
The Inquisitors and the Jews in the New World.
University of Miami Press.
Except for a brief introduction, the entire book is a listing of Inquisition Records in the New World. Good source for converso names in the New World.
Margolinsky, Jul
-
299 epitaphs from the Jewish cemetry in St Thomas, W.I., 1937-1916. With an index compiled from records in the archives of the Jewish Community in Copenhagen.
Copenhagen, 1957
Shilstone, E.M.
-
Monumental inscriptions in the burial ground of the Jewish synagogue at Bridgetown, Barbados.
London, 1956
374 tombstones (1675-1925).
Obejas, Achy
-
Days of Awe.
NY: Ballantine, 2001.
Semi-autobiographical novel about crypto-Jews in today's Cuba.
Wiesenthal, Simon
-
Sails of Hope: The Secret Mission of Christopher Columbus.
New York: Macmillan, 1973
From the famous Nazi hunter. Explores reasons to believe Columbus was a crypto-Jew, with supporting data.
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Turkey and Greece
Malka, Jeffrey S.
-
Sephardic Genealogy:
Discovering Your Sephardic Ancestors and Their World.
2nd Ed., Avotaynu, 2009.
Click here for Table of Contents and to order.
Indispensible. The ONLY comprehensive book for Sephardic Genealogy. --
History, research methods, archives, surnames, maps, bibliography, and more. (Includes Turkey, Balkans, Salonika, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia)
Angel, Marc D.
-
The Jews of Rhodes: The History of a Sephardic Community.
Sepher-Hermon Press, Inc., New York, 1978.
Very good.
Attal, Robert
-
Les Juifs de Grece de l'expulsion d'Espagne a nos jours; bibliographie.
Jerusalem, Ben Zvi Institute& Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1984.
Includes 2297 references in Greek, Hebrew, Ladino, French, English. Index: subjects, authors and places.
Attal, Robert
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Les Juifs de Grece de l'expulsion d'Espagne a nos jours; bibliographie. Additifs a la premiere edition.
Jerusalem, Institut Ben Zvi & l'Universite Hebraique de Jerusalem, 1984.
Includes 940 references in Greek, Hebrew, Ladino, French, English. Index: subjects, authors and places.
Carasso, Elie
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L'Echelle de Jacob: une famille Sefarade de Salonique.
Cousins de Salonique, 4 Rue Clerc de Molieres, 13150 Tarascon, France. 1993. (elie.carasso@orange.fr)
Nahmias of Salonica Family history.
Carasso, Elie (editor)
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Les Juifs de Salonique, 1492-1943.
Cousins de Salonique, 4 Rue Clerc de Molieres, 13150 Tarascon, France. 1993. (elie.carasso@orange.fr)
Synagogues, Name lists, Carasso family, Michel Molho, AIU schools, etc.
Cohen, Mark
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Last Century of a Sephardic Community. The Jews of Monastir, 1839-1943.
Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture, NY. 2003.
History on the Sephardic Jews of Monastir during the past century.
Franco, Moise
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Essai sur l'histoire des Israelites de l'Empire Ottoman depuis les origines jusqu'a nos jours.
Paris, Dularcher, 1897. (in French)
This work is a real masterpiece on the subject. The 1897 edition has no index, but many names are mentionned.
Galante, Avram
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Histoire des Juifs de Rhodes, Chio, Cos, etc.
Istanbul, Societe anonyme de papeterie dimprimerie (Fratelli Haim) 1935.
Tells the story of the Jews of Rhodes and surrounding islands.
Galante, Avram
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Histoire des Juifs de Turquie.
Editions ISIS, 1985. Isis Yayimcilik, Kuymcu Irfan Sok, 22/2 Nisantasi, Istambul, Turkey.
Tells the story of the Jews of Turkey.
Goodblatt, Morris
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Jewish life in Turkey in the XVIth century, as reflected in the legal writings of Samuel de Medina.
New York, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1952.
Excellent descriptions of life in Salonika and the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century.
Levy, Avigdor
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Jews of the Ottoman Empire.
Darwin Press, 1994.
Very good.
Sanus, Murat
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The Jews of Tire, Official Marital Records, Records of Religious Marriages, Funeral Records, School Records (Tire Yahudileri, Resmi Evlilik Kayıtları, Dini Evlilik Kayıtları, Defin Kayıtları, Okul Kayıtları)
Publisher: Tire Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları - 2015. Bilingual
Molho, Michael and Mevorah, Avram
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History of the Jews of Kastoria.
Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture, NY. (expanded reprint of 1938 volume).
History on the Sephardic Jews of Monastir during the past century.
Nahoum, Henri
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Les Juifs de Smyrne - 19ieme et 20ieme siecle.
Editions Aubier - Histoires, Paris 1997.
Detailed description of life in Smyrna's Sephardi Jewish community with family names.
Recanati, Aure
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Mémorial de la Déportation des Juifs de Grèce.
Jerusalem, Abraham Cohen-Erez Publ.,2005. 3 volumes.
In French.
Rivlin, Bracha, ed.
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Encyclopaedia of Jewish Communities from their foundation till after the Holocaust - Greece.
Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, 1998.
Includes a very large and useful bibliography and a detailed index.
Sciaky, Leon
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Farewell to Salonica: City at the Crossroads
Philadelphia: Paul Dry Books, 2003.
Reprint of noted 1946 book.
Shaw, Stanford J.
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Jews of the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic.
Institute of Turkish Studies, 1994.
Very good.
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Bulgaria
Malka, Jeffrey S.
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Sephardic Genealogy:
Discovering Your Sephardic Ancestors and Their World.
2nd Ed., Avotaynu, 2009.
Click here for Table of Contents and to order.
Indispensible. The ONLY comprehensive book for Sephardic Genealogy. --
History, research methods, archives, surnames, maps, bibliography, and more. (Includes Bulgaria, Turkey and Balkans).
N/A
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Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora, vol. X: Bulgaria.
Tel Aviv, 1967. (in Hebrew).
Photographs, a long index and bibliographical citations in footnotes.
Arditti, Benjamin
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Yehudei Bulgaria bishnot hamishtar hanatsi, 1940-1944.
(Jews of Bulgaria during the years of the Nazi regime, 1940-1944).
Tel Aviv, 1962. 436p. (in Hebrew).
This book is the first one on this subject. When immigrating to Israel in 1949, Arditti brought with him a rich documentation which allowed him to analyze the subject. Includes a documents list, a wide bibliography and an index. This is a masterpiece on the matter. It unfortunately only exists in Hebrew.
Benbassa, Esther; Rodrigue, Aron
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A Sephardi Life in Southeastern
Europe - The Autobiography and Journal of Gabriel Arie, 1863-1939.
Univ. of Washington Press, Seattle, 1998.
See listing of names in this family tree under "Search for names" or click here.
Benbassa, Esther; Rodrigue, Aron
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The Jews of the Balkans: The Judeo-Spanish Community, 15th to 20th Centuries (Jewish Communities of the Modern World).
University of California Press, 2000.
Chary, Frederick B.
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The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution 1940-1944.
Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972.
A well-documented study about that miracle that occured in Bulgaria: its Jews, in the heart of Europe were not deported during WW2. The book has a
detailed index and a "bibliographical essay". Many footnotes enlarging the subject.
Tamir, Vicky
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Bulgaria and her Jews: the history of a dubious symbiosis.
New York, Sepher-Hermon Press for Yeshiva University Press, 1979.
The most comprehensive study (in English) on this Diaspora. Contains a large bibliography and a detailed index with a lot a names.
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Conversos
Malka, Jeffrey S.
-
Sephardic Genealogy:
Discovering Your Sephardic Ancestors and Their World.
2nd Ed., Avotaynu, 2009.
Click here for Table of Contents and to order.
Indispensible. The ONLY comprehensive book for Sephardic Genealogy. --
History, research methods, archives, surnames, maps, bibliography, and more. (Includes pre-expulsion and Inquisition records in Spain and the New World).
Alfassa, Shelomo.
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The Sephardic Anousim.
2010.
Anchías, Juan de.
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Libro verde de Aragón; documentos aragoneses publicados por d. Isidro de las Cagigas.
Madrid, Compañía ibero-americana de publicaciones, 1929.
Small book, general information, no index. (For original see below).
Anchías, Juan de.
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Consvltations resolvtio, Libro verde de Aragón.
Cæsaravgvstæ, apvd Ioannem a Lanaja et Qvartanet regni Aragonum, & Vniuersitatis typographym, 1623.
Usually found in rare books collections.
Golden, Gloria
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Remnants of Crypto-Jews Among Hispanic Americans.
Floricanto Press, 2004
Hordes, Stanley M.
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To the End of the Earth: A History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico .
New York City: Columbia University Press, 2008
Liebman, Seymour B.
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The Inquisitors and the Jews in the New World.
University of Miami Press.
Except for a brief introduction, the entire book is a listing of Inquisition Records in the New World. Good source for converso names in the New World.
Martz, Linda
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A Network of Converso Families in Early Modern Toledo.
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2003
Deals with the peri-expulsion period. Contains many genealogical family trees of prominent conversos, including Silva, Ayala, Franco, Cedillo, Santo Domingo, Cota, Sancho Sanchez de Toledo, Niño, Noez, Tejares, Husillo, Cisneros, Herrera, Ramirez, García de Toledo (La Gallinería), Avalos, Fenolete, Añovar, Sedeño y Mesa, Canales, Ortiz de Torres, Alcocer, Ceballaos, Nuñez, etc.
Ortiz, Dominguez
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Judeoconversos en la espana moderna
Editorial Mapfre, Paseo de Recoletos, 25 - 28004 Madrid 1992.
Oelman, Timothy
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Marrano Poets. An anthology.
Littlman Library of Jewish Civilization, 1985.
Interesting.
Roth, Norman
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Conversos, Inquisition and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
University of Wisconsin Press 1995.
Much information about converso families and lists of converso names
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Jewish Mysticism, Philosophy and Kabballah
Scholem, Gershom
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Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism.
Schocken Books 1995 (1946)
"The" book to understand the development of Jewish mysticism and Kabballah.
Weiner, Herbert
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9 1/2 Mystics.
Collier Books 1997.
Superb introduction to today's Jewish mysticism and Ashkenazi Hassidim.
Friedman, Richard Elliott
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Who wrote the Bible?
Collier Books 1997.
Explains understandably the theories of the authors "J" "P" "E" and "D".
Twersky, Isadore
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A Maimonides Reader.
Collier Books 1997.
Guide to the Perplexed and much more with notes and explanations.
Scholem, Gershom
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Kabbalah.
Collier Books 1997.
By the person who revolutionized the field.
Scholem, Gershom
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The Messianic Idea in Judaism and other essays on Jewish spirituality.
Collier Books 1997.
By the person who revolutionized the field.
Matt, Daniel
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God and the Big Bang.
Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock, Vermont, 1996.
Brings together modern cosmology and ancient Kabballah.
Steinsaltz, Adin
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The Thirteen Petalled Rose.
Basic Books 1980.
Fascinating summary by authoritative Expert.
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Novels
Zimler, Richard
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The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon.
Overlook Press 2000.
First book in Sephardic trilogy. Set in pre-expulsion Portugal. Superb. Hard to put down. Best seller in several countries.
Zimler, Richard
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Hunting Midnight.
Delacorte Press 2003.
Second book in Sephardic trilogy. Same family but now in late 18th and early 19th century Portugal.
Mostly written from the perspective of a child which renders it somewhat juvenile.
Obejas, Achy
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Days of Awe.
NY: Ballantine, 2001.
Semi-autobiographical novel about crypto-Jews in today's Cuba.
Yehoshua, A. B.
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Journey to the end of the Millenium.
Harvest Books, 2000.
One of Israel's internationally acclaimed top two authors writes about a Sephardic Morrocan merchant family travelling to Paris in the year 999 C.E. Highly recommended.
Yehoshua, A. B.
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Mr. Mani.
NY: Doubleday, 1992.
Possibly his most complex novel. About 6 generations of a Sephardic family. Takes you through Jerusalem, Crete, Istanbul, the Negev, Athens and even Poland in what the NY Times Book Review described as "Faulkner with an admixture of Joyce".
Rushdie, Salman
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The Moor's Last Sigh.
Pantheon Books, 1997.
Yes, it is the author of Satanic Verses. About a Portuguese Sephardic merchant family in Kochin, India and later Bombay and Spain. Well researched and just wonderful.
Raphael, David
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The Alhambra Decree.
Carmi House, 1988.
Historic novel around 1492 and the Spanish Jews expulsion from Spain.
Raphael, David
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Cavalier of Malaga.
Carmi House, 1989.
Another historic novel by the author of The Alhambra Decree.
Gordon, Noah
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The Last Jew.
Griffin Trade, 2002.
Young Yonah Toledano is orphaned in Spain in the days of the Inquisition. Gripping story.
Halter, Marek
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The Book of Abraham.
Holt Rinehart & Winston, 1986.
Called the Jewish "Roots" novel, is based on the author's family history. Abraham escapes the Roman destruction of Jerusalem carrying a scroll of his family history. The novel follows the scroll through 19 centuries including Alexandria, Toledo, Warsaw, etc.
Perera, Victor
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The Cross and the Pear tree.
Search for his ancestors.
Eskinazi, Salamon
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Sepharad: The Embezzled Land.
Lost Coast Press, 1997.
Novel about Nehama family.
Salom, Margot F.
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In Sure Dwellings. A Journey from Expulsion to Assimilation.
Traces her Salom ancestors from 1492 on.
Caroll, James
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Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History
Ex-Catholic priest traces the roots of the Christian churches' intolerable legacy of hostility towards Jews.
Kamenetz, Rodger
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The Jew in the Lotus.
Harper, San Francisco 1994.
A poet describes a dialog between Jewish leaders and the Dalai Lama.
Goldemberg, Isaac
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The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo Lerner.
Jewish latin America.