"The most concise of the authoritative biographies...It also makes clearer than the others how fully Blum assumed his Jewish identity, though in a rationalist, universalist, and civic form that was essentially secular. Finally, Birnbaum's biography is the most personal so far."—Robert O. Paxton, New York Review of Books
"Brief, eloquent, and beautifully translated . . . A valuable introduction and guide to one of the most important, if overlooked, figures in the history of modern France and, indeed, modern Europe."—James McAuley and Patrice Higonnet, New Republic
"[Blum's] importance for an understanding of modern France is lucidly summarized in Pierre Birnbaum’s Léon Blum: Prime Minister, Socialist, Zionist."—Frederick Brown, Wall Street Journal
“Birbaum has drawn a sharp portrait that centres on Blum’s Jewishness… It is indeed timely that the Yale Jewish Lives series should have commissioned this wonderful, readable book, with the impressive Arthur Goldhammer responsible, as with many other recent French histories, for a clear and fluent translation.”—Julian Wright, Times Literary Supplement
"Illuminating . . . Birnbaum's insightful account allows readers to consider the comparison between today's anti-Semitism and that of an earlier era and opens up new ways of thinking about the present."—Foreign Affairs
“…a surprisingly human portrait of the Zionist socialist and three-time prime minister of France.”—Melody Amsel-Arieli, Segula
“Pierre Birnbaum has written a very fine book. It has the look of a biography, and it is that in part.”—Philip Nord, Journal of Modern History
“Twenty years ago, Pierre Birnbaum wrote a brilliant Political History of State Jews in France, and now he has written a beautiful biography of the greatest of the state Jews. Léon Blum has never gotten the recognition he deserves as a French statesman, a socialist leader, and a proud Jew. That will change with this book.”—Michael Walzer, author of The Paradox of Liberation: Secular Revolutions and Religious Counterrevolutions
“A succinct, interesting, and compelling overview of the life of French politician and former Prime Minister Léon Blum. Pierre Birnbaum draws on a rich series of primary sources that bring Blum and his adversaries to life.”—Maud S. Mandel, author of Muslims and Jews in France: History of a Conflict
