Bridge of Words

“Esther Schor’s lovely book describes how a tenacious group of people have dedicated themselves to an optimistic vision of harmony. It is a meditation not only on Esperanto, but on idealism itself, and it is written with resonant clarity, abiding kindness, and great compassion.”—Andrew Solomon, author of Far From the Tree

“Esther Schor has crossed continents, tunneled under the Tower of Babel, brooded over the twentieth century’s darkest traumas and brightest dreams, and spoken endless Esperanto in an effort to understand how a language freighted with human tragedy still lives like a kiss on the lips of its speakers. This is a beautiful, mysteriously moving book by a fearless writer who set out to find the soul of a language, knowing full well that it was her own soul she was after all along.”—Jonathan Rosen, author of Joy Comes in the Morning

“Esther Schor brings a scholar’s rigor and a poet’s ear to the astonishing, century-long story of Esperanto, from its Jewish inventor in nineteenth-century Poland to its fractious, worldwide devotees today. Tracing this utopian tale philosophically, politically, and personally, like a sympathetic yet clear-eyed analyst, she interprets the recurring dream of a universal language, revealing its meaning for our lives today.”—Alisa Solomon, author of Wonder of Wonders