Library Journal
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Venture capitalist and philanthropist Moritz (The Little Kingdom) explores his family's experiences of dislocation in this stellar sociopolitical history and memoir. Stories of his grandparents, assimilated Jews at the dawn of Germany's 20th century; his parents, who arrived in the UK as refugee teens; and his own sense of both mixed and lost identity are woven into a compelling tapestry shot through with old letters and documents, family photos, questions he regrets leaving unasked during his parents' lifetimes, and limpid, even poetic, prose. When the author was born, his parents and maternal grandparents had made their home in Wales, which he left to attend Oxford and eventually emigrated to the United States. Though he is a naturalized U.S. citizen and raised his family there, he reaffirmed his German roots when Germany officially recognized his citizenship. The cycle of cultural accumulations, departures, and building anew is one outcome of the inherited trauma that Jews still recognize as a core aspect of their identity, even when living less tumultuous and more materially and socially successful lives. VERDICT Moritz demonstrates that his truth mirrors the realities felt by millions with displaced roots. This is an essential read that belongs in all collections.—Francisca Goldsmith