The author certainly knows his stuff, citing some truly obscure passages from one of the most prolific writers in the Western canon. His overall conclusion is that Erasmus was not at all anti-Semitic in the modern meaning of the word. Erasmus was certainly unsympathetic to Jewish religion, and often used it as an example of egregious formalism that should be avoided in Christianity. One of his favorite phrases was "a more than Jewish ceremonialism". One converted Jew, a vitriolic critic and unrelenting persecutor one of Erasmus' associates, so angered Erasmus that, in one letter, he lashed out against the fellow in terms that would embarass us. Yet this is counterbalanced by a great many statements spread over many years insisting that the Jews should be treated fairly and as humans, that the only Christian course of action was to tolerate and preach to them. The book is badly marred by an afterward contributed by Arthur A Cohen, who disregards the mass of data that Markish presents and flatly declares that "Erasmus is no street anti-Semite...but he is surely within a great tradition of contempt... that leads straight to the death camps." Given the massive and carefully documented evidence that Markish presents, Cohen's undocumented diatribe adds only an ugly chunk of posturing political correctness to an otherwise scholarly book. And yes, Markish is Jewish.

This is an awful, ghastly book, full of hate and anger. One can certainly understand why the author, a German Jew, would be so quick to see anti-Semitism in Erasmus' works. However, this topic was addressed with far more erudition and intellectual integrity by Shimon Markish, another Jewish scholar, in the book Erasmus and the Jews.

The book is filled with angry rhetoric and verbal excesses. He calls the German people of the time "semi-illiterate". He manages to apply just about every invective he can to his victim: cowardly, brutal, stupid, vicious, hypocritical, hate-filled, shameless, and on and on. It really is an embarrasmment to read.

Avoid this book! Read instead Erasmus and the Jews by Shimon Markish.