Alfred Dreyfus

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Focusing on Alfred Dreyfus, the book delves into his personal writings, revealing a complex, intellectual figure deeply engaged with the cultural currents of his time. Through his letters to his wife Lucie and prison workbooks, Dreyfus emerges as a skeptical yet idealistic Alsatian Jew, critical of technological and ideological shifts. The author, Norman Simms, employs a rabbinical midrash style to explore Dreyfus's worldview and the societal assumptions he challenged, creating a nuanced understanding of the man behind the infamous Dreyfus Affair.