Buried History

A Biography and Memoir Collection

History isn't a collection of dates and facts, but the foundation for the stories that inspire us and help us understand our world. History as a genre doesn’t exist much within frum literature. But crack the spine of a biography, and you'll uncover a historical tapestry more intricate than any academic text could capture. Every biography and memoir is a historical document that tells the story of an era, a movement, and a response. This collection is an archaeological dig through the literary landscape, excavating 150 years of hidden historical narratives that lie within seemingly unrelated genres. What books would you add to the historical record?

1870: Where Heaven Touches Earth, David Rosoff - The seeds of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael, from the big picture to the small vignettes

1880: Rav Samson Refoel Hirsch, Rabbi Eliyohu Meir Klugman - The storms that swept across Torah communities in Europe, and the early response in the form of Rav Hirsch’s unique vision

1890: Struggles, Challenges, and Tradition, Berel Wein - A bird’s eye view of the battles that Torah Orthodoxy faced across the world

1900: The Rav Hakollel and His Generation, Yonah Landau - The chaos and fracture of New York’s earliest Jewish community

1910: The Alter of Novardok, Rabbi Shlomo Weintraub - A unique approach to Torah and Mussar that shaped the conversation within the Yeshiva world

1920: Guardian of Jerusalem, Rabbi Hillel Danziger - The heated battles over the direction of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael

1930: Rav Shraga Feivel, Yonoson Rosenblum - A vision for Torah in America that laid the groundwork for generations
Rav Dessler, Yonasan Rosenblum - Transplanting the old European world of Mussar to a new British world

1940: A Tale of Two Worlds, Rabbi Menachem Davis - Bridging the worlds of Europe and America to reignite the Bais Yaakov movement
Mirrer in Manilla, Dr. Mordachai Buchie Soroka - The dramatic story of the rescue of the Mir Yeshiva - and one boy left behind

1950: A Blazing Light in the Darkness, Avrohom Birnbaum - Rebuilding the world of Torah in the aftermath of the war

1960: Silent Revolution, Miriam Zakon - The heroism and strength of the Russian refuseniks and a hidden Torah movement

1970: Rav Noach Weinberg, Yonoson Rosenblum - The seeds of the Baal Teshuva movement and its rapid sweep across the globe

1980: Maran Harav Ovadia, Rabbi Yehuda Heimowitz - Shaping the modern Israeli political landscape, and building a world of Sephardi Torah study
Rabbi Sherer, Yonoson Rosenblum - A decade of current events and politics seen through the lens of Agudah’s involvement, from rescue to legislature

1990: Rav Nota, Shmuel Botnick - Establishing Halachic frontiers at the seamlines of American Judaism

2000: Rebbetzin Kanievsky, Naftali Weinberger - The coalescence of Torah world and its leaders beyond borders

2010: Rabbi Belsky, Rabbi Shimon Finkelman - Bringing Halacha and its observance to the modern era