This is the story of an illustrious Romanian-born, Hungarian-speaking,
Vienna-schooled, Columbia-educated and Harvard-formed, middle-class
Jewish professor of politics and other subjects. Markovits revels in a
rootlessness that offers him comfort, succor, and the inspiration for
his life's work. As we follow his quest to find a home, we encounter his
engagement with the important political, social, and cultural
developments of five decades on two continents. We also learn about his
musical preferences, from classical to rock; his love of team sports
such as soccer, baseball, basketball, and American football; and his
devotion to dogs and their rescue. Above all, the book analyzes the
travails of emigration the author experienced twice, moving from Romania
to Vienna and then from Vienna to New York.
Markovits's Candide-like travels through the ups and downs of post-1945
Europe and America offer a panoramic view of key currents that shaped
the second half of the twentieth century. By shedding light on the
cultural similarities and differences between both continents, the book
shows why America fascinated Europeans like Markovits and offered them a
home that Europe never did: academic excellence, intellectual openness,
cultural diversity and religious tolerance. America for Markovits was
indeed the "beacon on the hill," despite the ugliness of its racism, the
prominence of its everyday bigotry, the severity of its growing economic
inequality, and the presence of other aspects that mar this worthy
experiment's daily existence.
