In ten essays, Gershon Shaked examines the specifically Jewish elements and common literary themes in the works of writers of Jewish descent. Two generations of writers are presented. The older, European generation wrote in German: Kafka, Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, Jakob Wassermann; the younger, American generation wrote in English: Bernard Malamud, Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Allen Lelchuk. In Shaked's analysis, the archetypes of the 'Eternal Jew' from Kafka's "America" and the 'Eternal Loser' from Joseph Roth's "Job" find their counterparts in Malamud's Schlemihl figures and in Philip Roth's 'urban neurotics'.