Zionism and Technocracy: The Engineering of Jewish Settlement in Palestine, 1870-1918 (The Modern Jewish Experience)

"Zionism and Technocracy is important reading for anyone seriously interested in the development of the Yishuv during the last decades of Ottoman rule."Â —Choice

"... stimulating and well written... " —Shofar

"A pioneering work on the most important aspect of early Zionist history, well researched, well written, highly to be recommended." —Walter Laqueur

"Taut and well-written with a fresh approach, Penslar’s painstakingly researched study fills an important gap in the literature on the early Yishuv." —The Jerusalem Post Magazine

"Penslar has written one of the first 'social histories' of an important aspect of Zionism." —David Sorkin

"... Penslar presents an alternative perspective of those early days of Jewish settlement. Instead of a tale of individuals and their efforts, it is history of the organizational efforts to develop the institutions needed to reestablish the Jewish presence on the land." —Midstream

The creation of a Jewish homeland in modern Palestine represented a monumental technical achievement. This achievement, and the story of the Jewish technocrats from Central Europe who engineered it, is documented here for the first time—bringing together social, intellectual, and institutional history in a pathbreaking study.